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Coy or koi?

coy is an adjective meaning “Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish”; koi is a noun meaning “Ornamental domesticated varieties of the Amur carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus), of…”. Use coy as an adjective and koi as a noun (coy is also a noun: “A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted”). They sound the same (/kɔɪ/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) coy is about as common as koi.

coyorkoi

What is the difference between coy and koi?

coykoi
Part of speechadjective, verb, noun, prefixnoun
Meaning

Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish

Pretending shyness or modesty, especially in an insincere or flirtatious way

A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted

Ornamental domesticated varieties of the Amur carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus), of Japan and eastern Asia with red-gold or white coloring

Examplenone recordednone recorded
Formscoyer, coyestKOIs
Pronunciation/kɔɪ//kɔɪ/
In writing1.3 times per million words1.2 times per million words

Sources: coy and koi 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 coy and koi

coy

  1. 1

    adjective datedBashful, shy, retiring

  2. 2

    noun A trap from which waterfowl may be hunted

  3. 3

    noun A company

  4. 4

    prefix Initialism of come on you (used by supporters of football clubs, especially English football clubs)

  5. 5

    adjective Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish

  6. 6

    adjective Pretending shyness or modesty, especially in an insincere or flirtatious way

  7. 7

    adjective Soft, gentle, hesitating

koi

  1. 1

    noun Ornamental domesticated varieties of the Amur carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus), of Japan and eastern Asia with red-gold or white coloring

  2. 2

    noun Abbreviation of Kepler/K1/K2 object of interest

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, coy or koi?

coy appears 1.3 times per million words; koi 1.2 times per million words.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

The words