Which to use
“sob” is a preposition and “sou” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #320
- “sob” frequency rank
- #106
- “sou” frequency rank
- 426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sob | sou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | abaixo, em baixo | primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ser |
Where the eye mixes sob and sou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sob and sou
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sob is /ˈsob/ while sou is /ˈsow/, /ˈso/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “sob” becomes u in “sou”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sob is recorded at frequency rank #320, classified as aprep, pronounced /ˈsob/. sou is at rank #106, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsow/, /ˈso/.
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 426, this pair ranks #75,226 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sob vs sou
Shared letters: os. Private to "sob": b. Private to "sou": u.
"sob" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sob" and "sou" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "sob" or "sou" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "sob" and "sou" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,226 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sob" and "sou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "soap vs sob". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,226 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.