Hay or hey?
hay is a noun meaning “Grass cut and dried for use as animal fodder”; hey is an interjection meaning “An exclamation to get attention”. Use hay as a noun and hey as an interjection (hey is also a noun: “A choreographic figure in which three or more dancers weave…”). They sound the same (/heɪ/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) hey is about 16 times as common as hay.
What is the difference between hay and hey?
| hay | hey | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | interjection, verb, noun |
| Meaning | Grass cut and dried for use as animal fodder Any mix of green leafy plants used for fodder To cut grasses or herb plants for use as animal fodder | informalAn exclamation to get attention informalA protest or reprimand informalTo greet with a "hey" |
| Example | I would like some of that hay. Enclose $20 | Hey, look at this! |
| Forms | hays | hay, heigh |
| Pronunciation | /heɪ/ | /heɪ/ |
| In writing | 8.1 times per million words | 132 times per million words |
Sources: hay and hey 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 hay and hey
hay
- 1
Grass cut and dried for use as animal fodder
- 2
To cut grasses or herb plants for use as animal fodder
- 3
The letter for the h sound in Pitman shorthand
- 4
Any mix of green leafy plants used for fodder
- 5
To lay snares for rabbits
- 6
slangCannabis; marijuana
I would like some of that hay. Enclose $20
- 7
A net set around the haunt of an animal, especially a rabbit
hey
- 1
informalAn exclamation to get attention
Hey, look at this!
- 2
informalTo greet with a "hey"
- 3
informalA choreographic figure in which three or more dancers weave between one another, passing by left and right shoulder alternately
- 4
informalAlternative spelling of he (“Hebrew letter”)
- 5
informalA protest or reprimand
Hey! Stop that!
- 6
informalAn expression of surprise
Hey! This is new!
- 7
informalAn informal greeting, similar to hi
Hey! How's it going?
- 8
informalA request for repetition or explanation; an expression of confusion
Hey? How's that?
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, hay or hey?
hay appears 8.1 times per million words; hey 132 times per million words.
hay 8.1 times per million wordshey 132 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search hay vs hey?
“hay vs hey” is searched about 260 times a month on Google and 20 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“hey vs hay”, “hay or hey”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.