“Somber” or “Sombre”

Language

Somber and sombre are both English terms.

Usage

Somber is predominantly used in 🇺🇸 American (US) English (en-US) while sombre is predominantly used in 🇬🇧 British English (used in UK/AU/NZ) (en-GB).

In terms of actual appearance and usage, here's a breakdown by country, with usage level out of 100 (if available) 👇:

Term	US	UK	India	Philippines	Canada	Australia	Liberia	Ireland	New Zealand	Jamaica	Trinidad & Tobago	Guyana
somber	92	54	44	89	51	62	0	50	60	67	49	0
sombre	8	46	56	11	49	38	0	50	40	33	51	0

• In the United States, there is a preference for "somber" over "sombre" (92 to 8).
• In the United Kingdom, there is a preference for "somber" over "sombre" (54 to 46).
• In India, there is a 56 to 44 preference for "sombre" over "somber".
• In the Philippines, there is a preference for "somber" over "sombre" (89 to 11).
• In Canada, there is a preference for "somber" over "sombre" (51 to 49).
• In Australia, there is a preference for "somber" over "sombre" (62 to 38).
• In Liberia, there is not enough data to determine a preference between "somber" and "sombre".
• In Ireland, there is no clear preference between "somber" and "sombre", with usage levels of 50 vs. 50.
• In New Zealand, there is a preference for "somber" over "sombre" (60 to 40).
• In Jamaica, there is a preference for "somber" over "sombre" (67 to 33).
• In Trinidad & Tobago, there is a 51 to 49 preference for "sombre" over "somber".
• In Guyana, there is not enough data to determine a preference between "somber" and "sombre".

Examples

Below, we provide some examples of when to use somber or sombre with sample sentences.

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