son

\sɔ̃\

/\sɔ̃\/ det

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

The verdict

“son” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #42) as a determiner. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#42
frequency rank, French
6,032
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Troisième personne du sujet, objet masculin singulier.

Corpus desk

Index FR-son · son · French

son · rank #42 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #42
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,032
  • PHOTO-FINISH elle

Nearest frequency peer: elle (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “son”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “son” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

son vs st
33% similar
son vs su
33% similar
son vs ss
33% similar

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

Key facts for son
PropertyValue
Headwordson
LanguageFrench
Part of speechDeterminer
IPA\sɔ̃\
Letters3
Frequency rank#42
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “son” sits in French 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). son lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for son is neighbouring look-alikes ("st", "su", …), not just typos; it is adeterminer pronounced \sɔ̃\. Frequency #42 among 6,032 “S” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for son in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "st", "su", "ss", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is son, spelled S-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Troisième personne du sujet, objet masculin singulier.
  2. 2
    Indique des rapports d’habitude, de connaissance, etc.
  3. 3
    Joint aux verbes « sentir, faire » dans le langage familier, il renforce le sens de la phrase.
  4. 4
    Forme supplétive de sa, utilisée quand la chose possédée est au féminin, pour effectuer une liaison obligatoire avec le mot suivant qui commence par une voyelle ou un h muet.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how son appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. J’ai lu son livre.
  2. Son coup droit fait mal.

This word in other languages

his(English)su(Español)sein(Deutsch)seu(Português)

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "son"?
"son" is spelled S-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \sɔ̃\.
What does "son" mean?
As a determiner, "son" means: Troisième personne du sujet, objet masculin singulier.
What words are commonly confused with "son"?
"son" is commonly confused with "st", "su", "ss". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "son"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "son" is \sɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "son" come from?
"son" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "son", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ils#54par#28aux#58sur#26
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