Both words add strong emphasis, but they point to different kinds of words. Use so before an adjective or an adverb, as in so cold or so slowly. Use such before a noun phrase, as in such weather or such a mess. When the noun phrase includes an adjective, such still belongs with the whole noun phrase. Compare Adjectives and Adverbs to see which word follows each form.

The pattern is so + adjective and so + adverb. The word after so tells the quality or manner that is being increased. A cold room can be so cold. A driver can speak so carefully. A train can move so quickly that people miss it. In each case, so intensifies the adjective or adverb, not the noun.

Using so with degree words

Usage	Explanation
Adjective degree	Use so before an adjective when you want to show a very high degree of that quality.
Adverb degree	Use so before an adverb when you want to show that an action happens with a very high degree.

Use such + noun phrase when the focus is on a person, thing, event, or idea. The noun phrase may be simple, as in such weather, or it may include an adjective, as in such a good idea. The form points to the whole noun phrase, not just one describing word. That is why such a noise, such a problem, and such beautiful flowers are all natural.

Using such with noun phrases

Usage	Explanation
Single noun emphasis	Use such before a noun phrase when you want to emphasize the person, thing, or idea.
Descriptive noun phrase	Use such before an adjective and noun when the whole noun phrase is being emphasized.

When a singular countable noun follows, English uses the pattern so + adjective + a/an + noun. The adjective comes right after so, then the article, then the noun: so good a movie, so strange a story, so important an answer. The article changes to a or an in the normal way. This pattern is less common in everyday speech than such a + adjective + noun, but it is correct and still appears in writing and formal speech.

Special so adjective noun pattern

Usage	Explanation
Singular count noun	Use so with an adjective before a or an and a singular count noun in this fixed pattern.
Formal emphasis	Use this pattern to sound strong and natural when the adjective comes before the article and noun.

Do not put so directly before a noun. So rain is wrong. Use such rain or such a lot of rain if the noun phrase needs emphasis. Do not put such directly before an adjective alone. Such cold is incomplete unless a noun follows, as in such cold weather. The same rule applies with plural nouns and uncountable nouns: such people, such rice, such bad luck. The word after such must be a noun phrase.

Avoiding common so and such mistakes

Idea
Do not use so directly before a noun when you want to emphasize a noun phrase.
Do not use such directly before an adjective unless a noun follows it.

Look at the word immediately after the gap. If it is an adjective or an adverb, choose so. If it begins a noun phrase, choose such. Say so tired, so beautifully, but such a tired driver and such beautiful music. With Adjectives and Adverbs, the choice becomes quick because the grammar after each form is different.

Quick choice between so and such

Idea
Use so before an adjective or an adverb.
Use such before a noun phrase.

Both forms sound strong, but they do not always feel the same. So is very common in everyday conversation: so late, so nice, so fast. Such often sounds a little more formal, dramatic, or expressive: such kindness, such a clear answer, such a wonderful evening. Writers also use such for effect in stories, speeches, and comments with strong feeling. The strength comes from the structure itself, but the surrounding words decide whether the sentence feels casual or literary.