software
soft·ware/ˈsɔf(t)ˌwɛɹ/noun
software is spelled S-O-F-T-W-A-R-E, 2 syllables: soft·ware. The wrong spelling people search most is softwear: about 120 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 93 of all searches for the word. Software is a noun meaning “Encoded computer instructions, usually modifiable (unless stored in some form of unalterable memory such as…”.
How many letters and syllables are in software?
| Letters | 8: S-O-F-T-W-A-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: soft·ware |
| In writing | 59 times per million words; the 1,758th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, softwear, about 120 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Sounds like |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell software?
Software is spelled S-O-F-T-W-A-R-E. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 56 of the searches for software in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is software?
Software appears 59 times per million words in written English, the 1,758th 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 software?
- UK /ˈsɒf(t)ˌwɛə/
- US /ˈsɔf(t)ˌwɛɹ/
- US /ˈsɑf(t)ˌwɛɹ/
Software has 2 syllables, split soft·ware in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-software.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with software
Sounds like: softwear (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What does software mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Encoded computer instructions, usually modifiable (unless stored in some form of unalterable memory such as ROM).
Some software will only run on a particular platform.
- 2
The human beings involved in warfare, as opposed to hardware such as weapons and vehicles.
- 3
datedRecorded music content, as opposed to the hardware necessary for reproducing it.
- 4
archaicSoft goods, such as textiles.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate software?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of software: SW.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Software in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense encoded computer instructions:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | logiciel, programmerie |
| German | Software |
| Portuguese | software, programa |
| Spanish | software, programa, soporte lógico, sóftwer |
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 software come from?
Computing sense from soft + -ware, by contrast with hardware (“the computer itself”). Coined by John Tukey in 1958.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).