ai
/ˈɑ.i/noun, contraction
ai is spelled A-I: 2 letters and one syllable. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,838th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Ai, the name). People search “ai vs ay” about 90 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, ai means “A pale-throated sloth (Bradypus tridactylus), endemic to forests of southern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern Brazil” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ai is ais.
How many letters and syllables are in ai?
| Letters | 2: A-I |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,838th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ai?
Ai appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,838th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Ai, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ai?
- /ˈɑ.i/
As a contraction (“All right”): /aɪ/.
Ai has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ai_(sloth).oga, En-us-eye.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-AI.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with ai
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: aii.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with ai?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ai from its last stressed vowel (/aɪ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ai
- ais plural
- aii
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ai mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A pale-throated sloth (Bradypus tridactylus), endemic to forests of southern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern Brazil.
contraction
- 1
USslangAll right.
Ai, let's go.
noun
- 1
Initialism of artificial intelligence.
- 2
A specific artificial intelligence program, such as the chatbot ChatGPT.
- 3
The system that controls the behavior of enemies and non-player characters.
- 4
A character or entity controlled by the game instead of a player.
- 5
Initialism of action item.
- 6
Initialism of airborne intelligence (synonym for an early type of airborne radar).
- 7
Initialism of articulatory index.
- 8
Initialism of artificial insemination.
verb
- 1
informalTo use artificial intelligence to search for or generate content.
adjective
- 1
Generated or appearing to have been generated by artificial intelligence.
symbol
- 1
datedAn orthographic ⟨ai⟩ with the value of the FACE vowel, as in the word "hail".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ai in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | IA |
| German | KI |
| Portuguese | IA |
| Spanish | IA , inseminación artificial |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ai come from?
Originated 1685–95, from Brazilian Portuguese aí, from Old Tupi a'y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).