# sofa

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsəʊfə/ · frequency rank #9,540

## Definitions
1. A 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.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **son** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-son)
- **spa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-spa)
- **sox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sox)
- **sol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sol)
- **soy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-soy)
- **sow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sow)
- **SOS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sos)
- **STA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sta)
- **som** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-som)
- **SPF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-spf)
- **sop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sop)
- **soi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-soi)
- **sou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sou)
- **SSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-ssa)
- **sor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sor)
- **sot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sot)
- **sov** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-sov)
- **some** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-some)
- **soon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-soon)
- **song** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sofa-vs-song)

## Common misspellings (5)
`osfa`, `sfoa`, `soaf`, `soffa`, `ssofa`

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