LohvsloyTell them apart

Quick tell: Loh is a name, loy is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Loh” is a name and “loy” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,164
“Loh” frequency rank
#45,491
“loy” frequency rank
92655
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Loh loy
Definition A surname. A type of one-eared spade used in Ireland.

Letter map: Loh vs loy

Shared letters muted; letters that set Loh and loy apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. Loh (CVC) and loy (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
Loh
3 ch
loy

Grammar separator: Loh vs loy

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Loh is aname and loyanoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - h in “Loh” becomes y in “loy”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 92655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Loh is recorded at frequency rank #47,164, classified as aname. loy is at rank #45,491, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɔɪ/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 92655, this pair ranks #2,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Loh vs loy

Shared letters: lo. Private to "Loh": h. Private to "loy": y.

"Loh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "loy" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Loh" and "loy" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Loh" is a name and "loy" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Loh" vs "loy" - which ranks higher?
"loy" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #45,491 in our English list, against #47,164 for "Loh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "Loh" vs "loy" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Loh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "loy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Loh" and "loy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Loh vs LSC". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #2,431 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list