so'svssotWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: so's is a contraction, sot is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“so's” is a contraction and “sot” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,171
“so's” frequency rank
#40,453
“sot” frequency rank
78624
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature so's sot
Definition So that, in order that. Stupid person; fool.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set so's and sot apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
so's
3 ch
sot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: so's is acontraction and sotanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

so's is recorded at frequency rank #38,171, classified as acontraction. sot is at rank #40,453, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɒt/.

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 78624, this pair ranks #24,139 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of so's vs sot

Shared letters: os. Private to "so's": -. Private to "sot": t.

"so's" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "sot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

so's#38,171
sot#40,453

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "so's" and "sot" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "so's" is a contraction and "sot" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "so's" or "sot"?
"so's" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,171 in our English list, against #40,453 for "sot". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering so's vs sot

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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