soldvssoldatWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sold is a verb, soldat is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sold” is a verb and “soldat” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,741
“sold” frequency rank
#3,504
“soldat” frequency rank
48245
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sold soldat
Definition Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de solden. Celui qui sert dans une armée, et reçoit une solde.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sold and soldat apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sold
6 ch
soldat

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sold is \zɔlt\ while soldat is \sɔl.da\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “sold” sits inside “soldat”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48245, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sold is recorded at frequency rank #44,741, classified as averb, pronounced \zɔlt\. soldat is at rank #3,504, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɔl.da\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 48245, this pair ranks #180,462 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sold vs soldat

Shared letters: dlos. Private to "sold": -. Private to "soldat": at.

"sold" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "soldat" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • soldosld · slod · sodl · soldd · solld · ssold
  • soldatosldat · slodat · sodlat · soladt · soldatt · solddat · soldta · solldat

Frequency comparison

sold#44,741
soldat#3,504

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sold" and "soldat" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sold" is a verb and "soldat" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sold" or "soldat"?
"soldat" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,504 in our French list, against #44,741 for "sold". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sold vs soldat

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “sold”; for a noun, it's “soldat”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sold” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list