sicvssuuWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sic is a adverb, suu is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sic” is an adverb and “suu” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,836
“sic” frequency rank
#47,111
“suu” frequency rank
54947
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sic suu
Definition assim boca, cavidade oral

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
sic
3 ch
suu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sic is /siːk/ while suu is /ˈsuː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sic is recorded at frequency rank #7,836, classified as anadv, pronounced /siːk/. suu is at rank #47,111, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsuː/.

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 54947, this pair ranks #10,909 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sic vs suu

Shared letters: s. Private to "sic": ci. Private to "suu": u.

"sic" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "suu" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

sic#7,836
suu#47,111

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sic" and "suu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sic" is an adverb and "suu" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sic" or "suu"?
"sic" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,836 in our Portuguese list, against #47,111 for "suu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sic vs suu

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “sic”; for a noun, it's “suu”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sic” 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