so long

intj

"so-long" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“so long” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an interjection - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Goodbye; a valediction used when leaving or departing from a person or place.

Key facts for so long
PropertyValue
Headwordso long
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “so long” sits in English frequency

so long falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for so long is 7 letters long, classified as an interjection. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Goodbye; a valediction used when leaving or departing from a person or place.".

so long doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain. Compare to Swedish hej så länge and Russian пока (poka). See Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “so long”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. The correct English form is so long, spelled S-O- -L-O-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Goodbye; a valediction used when leaving or departing from a person or place.

Etymology

Uncertain. Compare to Swedish hej så länge and Russian пока (poka). See Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “so long”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "so long"?
"so long" is spelled S-O- -L-O-N-G.
What does "so long" mean?
As an interjection, "so long" means: Goodbye; a valediction used when leaving or departing from a person or place.
What is the origin of the word "so long"?
Uncertain. Compare to Swedish hej så länge and Russian пока (poka). See Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “so long”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “so long”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-O- -L-O-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list