sonata
/səˈnɑːtə/noun
sonata is spelled S-O-N-A-T-A: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Sonata, the name). As a noun, sonata means “A musical composition for one or a few instruments, one of which is frequently a piano, in three or four movements that vary in key and tempo” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sonata is sonatas.
How many letters and syllables are in sonata?
| Letters | 6: S-O-N-A-T-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sonata?
Sonata appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Sonata, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sonata?
- /səˈnɑːtə/
- /soʊˈneɪtə/
Sonata has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sonata.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-sonata.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sonata
- sonatas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sonata mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A musical composition for one or a few instruments, one of which is frequently a piano, in three or four movements that vary in key and tempo.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sonata in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a musical composition for one or a few instruments:
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 sonata come from?
From Italian sonata, from the feminine past participle of sonare (modern suonare), from Latin sonāre (“to make sound”). Doublet of sounded.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).