sotto

/ˈsəʊtəʊ/

//ˈsəʊtəʊ// adv

"sotto" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sotto” is uncommon English (frequency #59,716 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,716
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ellipsis of sotto voce.

Key facts for sotto
PropertyValue
Headwordsotto
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/ˈsəʊtəʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#59,716
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sotto” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). sotto lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sotto is uncommon English at frequency #59,716 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ˈsəʊtəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Ellipsis of sotto voce.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for sotto, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. 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: Ellipsis of sotto voce. The correct English form is sotto, spelled S-O-T-T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ellipsis of sotto voce.

Etymology

Ellipsis of sotto voce.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sotto"?
"sotto" is spelled S-O-T-T-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsəʊtəʊ/.
What does "sotto" mean?
As an adverb, "sotto" means: Ellipsis of sotto voce.
How do you pronounce "sotto"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sotto" is /ˈsəʊtəʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sotto"?
Ellipsis of sotto voce. 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 “sotto”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-O-T-T-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈsəʊtəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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