Which to use
“obey” is a verb and “oy” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,219
- “obey” frequency rank
- #25,159
- “oy” frequency rank
- 34378
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obey | oy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of. | An exclamation typically expressing mild frustration or expressing feelings of uncertainty or concern. |
Where the eye mixes obey and oy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obey is /əʊˈbeɪ/ while oy is /ɔɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34378, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obey is recorded at frequency rank #9,219, classified as averb, pronounced /əʊˈbeɪ/. oy is at rank #25,159, tagged as anintj, pronounced /ɔɪ/.
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 34378, this pair ranks #321,363 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obey vs oy
Shared letters: oy. Private to "obey": be. Private to "oy": -.
"obey" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "oy" · 2 letters · shape VV
Known mistypes of this pair
- obey ← boey · obbey · obeyy · obye · oeby