sexvssuWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sex is a noun, su is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sex” is a noun and “su” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,835
“sex” frequency rank
#6,713
“su” frequency rank
14548
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sex su
Definition sexo, gênero dele

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sex and su apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
sex
2 ch
su

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sex is anoun and suanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sex is recorded at frequency rank #7,835, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɛks/. su is at rank #6,713, tagged as anadj.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 14548, this pair ranks #57,505 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sex vs su

Shared letters: s. Private to "sex": ex. Private to "su": u.

"sex" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "su" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequency comparison

sex#7,835
su#6,713

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sex" and "su" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sex" is a noun and "su" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sex" or "su"?
"su" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,713 in our Portuguese list, against #7,835 for "sex". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sex vs su

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sex”; for an adjective, it's “su”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sex” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list