# somber vs sombre

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### somber
*adjective · IPA /ˈsɑmbɚ/ · frequency rank #27,291*
US standard spelling of sombre.

### sombre
*adjective · IPA /ˈsɒmbə/ · frequency rank #35,523*
Dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/somber-vs-sombre