Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sonder

/ˈsɑndɚ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.92 in modern English

Syllables: son-der
IPA: /ˈsɑndɚ/

7

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"I had a sonder, a realization that the random girl sitting next to me inside of Starbucks might have a fantastic life or she might be dealing with a very ill family member."
"We need to have a "sonder" moment, where we realize that we aren't the only ones with feelings, dreams, regrets and hopes."
"I knew the feeling of sonder my whole life. […] Every time I stopped what I was doing and just watched people, this feeling of breathlessness would wash over me."

Etymology

Coined by American author and neologist John Koenig in 2012, whose project, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, aims to come up with new words for emotions that currently lack names. Inspired by German sonder- (“special”) and French sonder (“to probe”).

Origin

Source language: German

Word Breakdown

Root: sonder-, sonder

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈsɑndɚ/
British English: /ˈsɒndə/

Usage

Uncountable

Rhymes With

wander ponder transponder yonder condor squander gondar conder gonder absconder preponder beponder

Questions

How do you pronounce sonder?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɑndɚ/.
What does sonder mean?: The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it.
Where does sonder come from?: It is traced to German.

How to pronounce sonder

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sonder”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɑndɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sonder”.
Repeat and practice — Say “sonder” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.