How to pronounce “so”
Say “so” in one beat
so
/soʊ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /səʊ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- sosoʊ
- IPA (American)
- /soʊ/
- IPA (British)
- /səʊ/
- Respelling
- SOH
- Syllables
- 1 — so
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /soʊ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/soʊ/
/səʊ/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “so” means
- noun
the syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization
- adverb
to a very great extent or degree
“the idea is so obvious”
- adverb
in a manner that facilitates
“he observed the snakes so he could describe their behavior”
Say it in a sentence
“The room was so quiet that I could hear the clock ticking.”“so”, answered
How do you pronounce “so”?
“so” is pronounced /soʊ/ (SOH) in American English and /səʊ/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /soʊ/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “so” have?
One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /soʊ/ — a single beat.
Is “so” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /soʊ/ (SOH); British English says /səʊ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “so” mean?
As a noun: the syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization For example: “The room was so quiet that I could hear the clock ticking.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “so”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /soʊ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “so” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.