Bae or bay?
bae is a noun meaning “The ship prefix for ships of the navy of Ecuador”; bay is a noun meaning “A body of water (especially the sea) contained by a concave shoreline”. They sound the same (/beɪ/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) bay is about 14 times as common as bae.
What is the difference between bae and bay?
| bae | bay | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb, adjective |
| Meaning | The ship prefix for ships of the navy of Ecuador Asian pear To make the sound of a wild animal, to bay | A body of water (especially the sea) contained by a concave shoreline A bank or dam to keep back water A tree or shrub of species Laurus nobilis (family Lauraceae), having dark green leaves and berries |
| Example | And if you actually want to see your bae – you know, like in person – You better set aside some of your refund check to pay for the $26… | This hotel has a great view across the bay |
| Forms | baes | bays |
| Pronunciation | /beɪ/ | /ˈbeɪ̯/ /ˈbeː/ /ˈbæ̝ɪ̯/ |
| In writing | 3.8 times per million words | 54 times per million words |
Sources: bae and bay in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of bae and bay
bae
- 1
The ship prefix for ships of the navy of Ecuador
- 2
slangDarling (term of endearment)
And if you actually want to see your bae – you know, like in person – You better set aside some of your refund check to pay for the $26 train ticket to a school that lingers…
- 3
Asian pear
- 4
To make the sound of a wild animal, to bay
bay
- 1
A body of water (especially the sea) contained by a concave shoreline
This hotel has a great view across the bay
- 2
A tree or shrub of species Laurus nobilis (family Lauraceae), having dark green leaves and berries
- 3
An opening in a wall, especially between two columns
- 4
The excited howling of dogs when hunting or being attacked
- 5
To howl
- 6
Of a reddish-brown colour with a black mane and tail
- 7
A brown colour/color of the coat of some horses
- 8
A bank or dam to keep back water
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, bae or bay?
bae appears 3.8 times per million words; bay 54 times per million words.
bae 3.8 times per million wordsbay 54 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).