Sound

SOWND /saʊnd/
Informal Neutral

What it really means

As slang, "sound" means "fine, okay, no problem", or describes a person who is decent and trustworthy: "he's sound". Common in the north and among young people.

Chinese explanation
俚语中 sound 表示"行、没问题",也可以形容人靠谱、人品好,比如 he's sound(他人很好)。在北方和年轻人中很常用。

Context, tips & common mistakes

Sound, especially in the North and Midlands, is quiet high praise for a person: 'he's sound' means trustworthy, decent, alright-in-all-weathers — understatement doing the work superlatives do elsewhere. There is no higher compliment hiding behind it; that is the compliment.

As a standalone reply — 'Pint later?' 'Sound.' — it just means 'fine, agreed', the northern cousin of 'cool'. You can safely adopt this one early: it fits texts, pubs and workplaces, offends nobody, and using it correctly makes you sound naturalised faster than almost any other single word. In the South you will hear 'sound' less; 'sorted' or 'safe' occupy similar ground regionally.

Example conversation

A: I'll pay you back on Friday, is that alright? B: Yeah, sound, no rush.
A:我周五还你钱,可以吗? B:行,没问题,不着急。

What you could say back

“Sound, cheers.”

Related phrases

Official sources

Rules and amounts change — confirm important details with the official source.
All British Slang
Reviewed by the UK Decoded editorial team · Last checked 17 August 2026 · Report a mistake