so

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled soa

US /soʊ/ UK /səʊ/ See IPA manual

Homophones

sow /soʊ/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like show /s/ vs /ʃ/ Sounds like saw /ɑ/ vs /oʊ/

Freq #34

Meanings

1

adv
To a very great degree or extent.

The film was so good that I watched it twice.
2

conj
For that reason; as a result.

I was hungry, so I made myself a sandwich.
3

conj
In order that; with the purpose that.

I left early so I would not miss the train.
4

adv
In the way shown or described.

Hold the brush so, and the paint will flow evenly.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 conj · in order that; with the... so that

4 adv · in the way shown or described. thus

More really that this truly very yea

Word family

Derived forms howsohowsofarinsomuchmaybesonone-so-prettynot-so-hotsay-soso-and-so so-calledso-sosoeverwhatso

Appears in

Phrases (5)

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so glad
very pleased or relieved about something

Adverb + adjective
so terrified
frightened to a very great degree

Adverb + adjective
so unhappy
very sad or deeply dissatisfied

Adverb + adjective
so worried
feeling a great deal of anxiety about something

Adverb + adjective
so relieved
very happy and free from worry after a feared problem has passed

Adverb + adjective

Idioms (1)

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so far so good
used to say that things have gone well up to now

Tongue twisters (1)

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Betty Botter
Betty Botter bought some butter. “But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter; If I put it in my batter, It will make my batter bitter; But a bit of better butter Will but make my batter better.” So she bought a bit of butter Better than the bitter butter, And made her bitter batter better. So it was better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter.

Compare the vowels in bit, better, batter and butter while keeping /b/ steady. Use your normal accent for the middle consonant of Betty, ...

Etymology

From Middle English so, swo, zuo, swa, swe, from Old English swā, swǣ, swē (“so, as, the same, such, that”), from Proto-West Germanic *swā, from Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē (“so”), from Proto-Indo-European *swē, *swō (reflexive pronomial stem). Cognate with Scots sae (“so”), Saterland Frisian so (“so”), West Frisian sa (“so”), Dutch zo (“so”), German Low German so (“so”), German so (“so”), Danish så (“so”), Norwegian Nynorsk so (“so”), Swedish så (“so, such that”), Faroese so (“so”), Icelandic svo (“so”), Old Latin suad (“so”), Albanian sa (“how much, so, as”), Ancient Greek ὡς (hōs, “as”), Urdu…

so Middle English swā Old English *swā Proto-West Germanic *swa Proto-Germanic *swé Proto-Indo-European

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Grammar & Function Words

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# so

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adv, conj
**IPA (US):** /soʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /səʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 34

## Meanings
1. To a very great degree or extent.
2. For that reason; as a result.
3. In order that; with the purpose that.
4. In the way shown or described.

## Examples
- The film was so good that I watched it twice.
- I was hungry, so I made myself a sandwich.
- I left early so I would not miss the train.
- Hold the brush so, and the paint will flow evenly.

## Synonyms
- really
- that
- this
- truly
- very
- yea

## Derived Forms
- howso
- howsofar
- insomuch
- maybeso
- none-so-pretty
- not-so-hot
- say-so
- so-and-so
- so-called
- so-so
- soever
- whatso

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: so
- Root: swā
- Root: *swā
- Root: *swa
- Root: *swé

## Etymology
From Middle English so, swo, zuo, swa, swe, from Old English swā, swǣ, swē (“so, as, the same, such, that”), from Proto-West Germanic *swā, from Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē (“so”), from Proto-Indo-European *swē, *swō (reflexive pronomial stem). Cognate with Scots sae (“so”), Saterland Frisian so (“so”), West Frisian sa (“so”), Dutch zo (“so”), German Low German so (“so”), German so (“so”), Danish så (“so”), Norwegian Nynorsk so (“so”), Swedish så (“so, such that”), Faroese so (“so”), Icelandic svo (“so”), Old Latin suad (“so”), Albanian sa (“how much, so, as”), Ancient Greek ὡς (hōs, “as”), Urdu…

## AI Etymology
So is from Middle English so, swo, zuo, swa, swe, from Old English swā, swǣ, swē (“so, as, the same, such, that”), from Proto-West Germanic *swā, from Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē (“so”), from Proto-Indo-European *swē, *swō (reflexive pronomial stem). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English so, Old English swā, Proto-West Germanic *swā, Proto-Germanic *swa, Proto-Indo-European *swé. In current use it includes senses such as To a very great degree or extent and For that reason; as a result.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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so

Meanings

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (5)

Idioms (1)

Tongue twisters (1)

Etymology

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