sowieso

Dutch

Alternative forms

• (text messaging) sws

Etymology

Borrowed from German sowieso. The negated sense niet sowieso (“not necessarily”) does not exist in German, which uses nicht unbedingt instead.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzoːʋizoː/, /zoːʋiˈzoː/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

sowieso

1. anyhow, in any case, anyway

   Het maakt me niet uit dat het feest niet doorgaat. Ik wilde er sowieso niet naartoe.

   I don’t care that the party was cancelled. I didn’t want to go there anyway.

2. necessarily, in all cases

   Duurder hoeft niet sowieso beter te zijn.

   More expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better.

Notes

• Frequently misspelled as *zowiezo, *zowizo and other variants.

Synonyms

• (anyhow): toch al
• (necessarily): noodzakelijk, in elk geval, per se

German

Etymology

Literally, “so like so”, that is "this way and that way", "anyway".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzoːvizo/, /zoviˈzoː/
• IPA^(key): /ˈsoːviso/, /soviˈsoː/ (Austria, Bavaria)

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oː

Adverb

sowieso

1. anyway, anyhow, in any case

   Synonyms: eh, ohnedies, ohnehin

   Es macht mir nichts aus, dass die Feier ausfällt. Ich wollte da sowieso nicht hin.

   I don’t care that the party was cancelled. I didn’t want to go there anyway.

Interjection

sowieso

1. something; replaces unknown or unimportant words

   Das Nummernschild war K sowieso 132. Ich hab’s nicht genau gesehen.

   The number plate was K something 132. I couldn’t really see it.

2. of course; sure; that’s a given; expresses agreement to a statement with the implication that it is trivial

   Männer sind halt alle gleich. — Sowieso.

   Men are all the same. — Of course.

Derived terms

• Sowieso
• Sowiesokosten

See also

• soundso
• wieso

Further reading

• “sowieso” in Duden online