Which to use
“sont” is a verb and “sous” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47
- “sont” frequency rank
- #115
- “sous” frequency rank
- 162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sont | sous |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de être. | Sert à marquer la situation d’une chose à l’égard d’une autre qui est au-dessus, par-dessus, qui la couvre en totalité ou en partie. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sont and sous apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
sont and sous form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sont is recorded at frequency rank #47, classified as averb, pronounced \sɔ̃\. sous is at rank #115, tagged as aprep, pronounced \su\.
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 162, this pair ranks #440,036 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sont" and "sous" be used interchangeably?
Remembering sont vs sous
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “sont”; for a preposition, it's “sous”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sont” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable