sour

/ˈsaʊə/

//ˈsaʊə// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sour" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sour” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,610 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#8,610
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Tasting of acidity.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sour vs su
50% similar
sour vs sun
50% similar
sour vs sub
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sour
PropertyValue
Headwordsour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsaʊə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#8,610
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sour” 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). sour lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for sour is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsaʊə/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,610 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for sour, with forms such as "osur", "soru", and "sourr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "su", "sun", "sub", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sour, from Old English sūr (“sour”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūr, from Proto-Germanic *sūraz (“sour”), from Proto-Indo-European *súHros (“sour”). Cognate with West Frisian soer, Dutch zuur (“sour”), Low German suur, German sauer (“sour… The correct English form is sour, spelled S-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tasting of acidity.
  2. 2
    Made rancid by fermentation, etc.
  3. 3
    Tasting or smelling rancid.
  4. 4
    Hostile or unfriendly.
  5. 5
    Excessively acidic and thus infertile. (of soil)
  6. 6
    Containing excess sulfur. (of petroleum)
  7. 7
    Unfortunate or unfavorable.
  8. 8
    Off-pitch, out of tune.

Etymology

From Middle English sour, from Old English sūr (“sour”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūr, from Proto-Germanic *sūraz (“sour”), from Proto-Indo-European *súHros (“sour”). Cognate with West Frisian soer, Dutch zuur (“sour”), Low German suur, German sauer (“sour”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian sur, French sur (“sour”), Faroese súrur (“sour”), Icelandic súr (“sour, bitter”), Polish ser (“cheese”), Czech sýr (“cheese”), Slovak syr (“cheese”), Russian сырой (syroj, “raw”), Ukrainian сири́й (syrýj, “raw”), Old Church Slavonic сꙑръ (syrŭ, “moist, cheese”).

Synonyms

acetoseacetousacidacidulentsourtart

Antonyms

sweet

This word in other languages

agrio(Español)aigre(Français)sauer(Deutsch)azedo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: osur,soru,sourr,ssour,suor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sour - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

osur2soru2sourr1ssour1suor2
Edit distance from "sour"

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 "sour"?
"sour" is spelled S-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsaʊə/.
What does "sour" mean?
As an adjective, "sour" means: Tasting of acidity.
What words are commonly confused with "sour"?
"sour" is commonly confused with "su", "sun", "sub". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sour" is /ˈsaʊə/. 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 "sour"?
From Middle English sour, from Old English sūr (“sour”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūr, from Proto-Germanic *sūraz (“sour”), from Proto-Indo-European *súHros (“sour”). Cognate with West Frisian soer, Dutch zuur (“sour”), Low German suur, German sa... 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 “sour”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-O-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈsaʊə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “su” - see the side-by-side comparison. sour vs su
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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