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# sou

noun (a sou, sous) — French

«sou» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (French, old money) A sou was an old French coin of very little value. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#m1)
2. (idiom, old-fashioned) Not a sou means no money at all, as in he hasn't a sou. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#m2)
3. (French) Sous (said soo) also means under in French, as in sous-chef, the cook under the head chef. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#m3)

### In the lessons

In history and old stories, people are poor without a sou to their name. In French lessons, sous means under, and sou means a small coin; both sound like the English word sue. In cooking, a sous-chef is the second chef in a kitchen. It is not an everyday English word.

### Examples

- He was so poor he didn't have a sou. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#x1)
- The old woman counted her few sous. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#x2)
- In the story, the beggar asked for a sou. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#x3)
- A sou was worth very little. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#x4)
- A sous-chef helps the head chef. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#x5)
- Sous la table means under the table. (French) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/#x6)

### Note

Said soo, like sue. Plural: sous (also said soo). Mostly found in old books and set phrases. It comes from French, not English.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sou» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sou/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sou» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sou.html) on Mova free.