sort

\sɔʁ\

/\sɔʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“sort” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #747 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#747
frequency rank, French
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - La destinée considérée comme cause des divers événements de la vie.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

sort vs st
50% similar
sort vs sr
50% similar
sort vs sur
50% similar

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

Key facts for sort
PropertyValue
Headwordsort
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sɔʁ\
Letters4
Frequency rank#747
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sort” 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). sort 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 sort is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \sɔʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #747 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for sort, with forms such as "osrt", "sorrt", and "sortt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "st", "sr", "sur", 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, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is sort, spelled S-O-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    La destinée considérée comme cause des divers événements de la vie.
  2. 2
    Effet de la destinée ou de la rencontre fortuite des événements bons ou mauvais.
  3. 3
    Condition ou état d’une personne sous le rapport de la richesse.
  4. 4
    Condition des choses, ce qu'il leur advient.
  5. 5
    Manière de décider quelque chose par le hasard.
  6. 6
    Ensemble de paroles, de regards, de caractères, de maléfices par lesquels, suivant une croyance superstitieuse, on peut produire des effets extraordinaires, et presque toujours malfaisants.

This word in other languages

fate(English)suerte(Español)Schicksal(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: osrt,sorrt,sortt,sotr,srot,ssort

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sort - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

osrt2sorrt1sortt1sotr2srot2ssort1
Edit distance from "sort"

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 "sort"?
"sort" is spelled S-O-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is \sɔʁ\.
What does "sort" mean?
As a noun, "sort" means: La destinée considérée comme cause des divers événements de la vie.
What words are commonly confused with "sort"?
"sort" is commonly confused with "st", "sr", "sur". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sort"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sort" is \sɔʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sort" come from?
"sort" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “sort”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-O-R-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \sɔʁ\ (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. sort 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