sofa
so·fa/ˈsoʊ̯fə/noun, verb
sofa is spelled S-O-F-A: 4 letters and 2 syllables (so·fa). It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sofa means “An upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sofa is sofas.
How many letters and syllables are in sofa?
| Letters | 4: S-O-F-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: so·fa |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sofa?
Sofa appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sofa?
- UK /ˈsəʊ̯fə/
- UK /ˈsɵʊ̯fə/
- US /ˈsoʊ̯fə/
Sofa has 2 syllables, split so·fa in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sofa.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sofa?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sofa from its last stressed vowel (/oʊfə/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sofa
- sofas plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sofaing participle, present
- sofaed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sofa mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicA raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting.
- 2
An upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people.
He bought a big sofa two days before his relatives arrived.
- 3
A slave soldier who served in the army of the Mali Empire.
verb
- 1
To furnish with one or more sofas.
- 2
To seat or lay down on a sofa.
noun
- 1
Acronym of status of forces agreement, an agreement that allows long-term garrisoning of foreign troops in the host country.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sofa in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense upholstered seat:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sofa come from?
Borrowed from French sofa, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “a long seat made of stone or brick, covered with rich carpets and cushions and used for sitting”). Cognate with Aramaic צפא/Classical Syriac ܨܦܬܐ (ṣipā’, ṣeppəṯā, “mat, matting”). The word may have entered European languages via Muslim Iberia or through Turkish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).