Which to use
“sous” is a preposition and “sowas” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,337
- “sous” frequency rank
- #913
- “sowas” frequency rank
- 30250
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sous | sowas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unter (unterhalb von) | eine solche Sache, so etwas |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sous and sowas apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sous is [su] while sowas is [ˈzoːvas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30250, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sous is recorded at frequency rank #29,337, classified as aprep, pronounced [su]. sowas is at rank #913, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈzoːvas].
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 30250, this pair ranks #1,751,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sous vs sowas
Shared letters: os. Private to "sous": u. Private to "sowas": aw.
"sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sowas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sous" and "sowas" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sous" or "sowas"?
Remembering sous vs sowas
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “sous”; for an abbrev, it's “sowas”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sous” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable