Which to use
“sob” is a preposition and “sup” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #320
- “sob” frequency rank
- #25,150
- “sup” frequency rank
- 25470
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sob | sup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | abaixo, em baixo | abutre |
Where the eye mixes sob and sup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sob with sup
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sob is /ˈsob/ while sup is /sʊp/. 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 (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sob is recorded at frequency rank #320, classified as aprep, pronounced /ˈsob/. sup is at rank #25,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sʊp/.
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 25470, this pair ranks #43,825 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sob vs sup
Shared letters: s. Private to "sob": bo. Private to "sup": pu.
"sob" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sup" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sob" and "sup" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sob" or "sup"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,825 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sob" and "sup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "soap vs sup". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #43,825 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.