som

/ˈsõ/

//ˈsõ// noun

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

The verdict

“som” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,134) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,134
frequency rank, Portuguese
1,185
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - onda longitudinal transmitida pela matéria e que podemos ouvir (geralmente entre 20Hz e 20kHz):

Corpus desk

Index PT-som · som · Portuguese

som · rank #1,134 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,134
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,185
  • PHOTO-FINISH seguida

Nearest frequency peer: seguida (-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 “som”

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

som vs su
33% similar
som vs SW
0% similar
som vs sua
33% similar

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

Key facts for som
PropertyValue
Headwordsom
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsõ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,134
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Onde “som” fica na frequência do português

Da esquerda para a direita: o pouco que carrega a fala diária, depois a cauda longa quase invisível.somcai aqui:

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

O eixo é logarítmico: cada tick marca cerca de dez vezes menos frequência. Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “seguida” (#1,133), “administração” (#1,135), “sede” (#1,132). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for som is neighbouring look-alikes ("su", "SW", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈsõ/. Frequency #1,134 among 1,185 “S” headwords. 6 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for som, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "su", "SW", "sua", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Portuguese form is som, spelled S-O-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    onda longitudinal transmitida pela matéria e que podemos ouvir (geralmente entre 20Hz e 20kHz):
  2. 2
    ruído, barulho
  3. 3
    música:
  4. 4
    estilo musical:
  5. 5
    qualquer emissão audível, diretamente ou através de aparelhos, de alguma função orgânica
  6. 6
    timbre:

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. O som tem a velocidade de 340 m/s, em geral, ao ar livre.
  2. O som dos Beatles (peças musicais) está esquecido nas danceterias.

This word in other languages

sound(English)sonido(Español)son(Français)Klang(Deutsch)

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "som"?
"som" is spelled S-O-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsõ/.
What does "som" mean?
As a noun, "som" means: onda longitudinal transmitida pela matéria e que podemos ouvir (geralmente entre 20Hz e 20kHz):
What words are commonly confused with "som"?
"som" is commonly confused with "su", "SW", "sua". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "som"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "som" is /ˈsõ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "som" come from?
"som" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 Portuguese words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

céu#1,163usa#1,103pro#1,173olá#1,198

What to do next

You've looked up "som". Here's where to go from here.

  • "som" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "su". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #1,134 among Portuguese headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more Portuguese words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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