son

\sɔ̃\

/\sɔ̃\/ det

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

The verdict

“son” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #42 in French word frequency and used as a determiner.

#42
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Troisième personne du sujet, objet masculin singulier.

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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for son is 3 letters long, classified as a determiner, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \sɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #42 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

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.

Using “son”

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

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