Amoy

Name: Amoy, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/əˈmɔɪ/

//əˈmɔɪ// name

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“Amoy” is an uncommon English word, ranked #88,050 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#88,050
frequency rank, English: 4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Former name of Xiamen: a prefecture-level city and subprovincial city of Fujian, in southeastern China.

Key facts for Amoy
Property	Value
Headword	Amoy
Language	English
Part of speech	Proper noun
IPA	/əˈmɔɪ/
Letters	4
Frequency rank	#88,050
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Amoy” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Amoy lands here:

#88,050

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Amoy is 4 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈmɔɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #88,050 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for Amoy in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the Postal Romanization of Hokkien 廈門 /厦门 (Ēe-mûi), specifically the Zhangzhou Hokkien dialect. Compare Spanish Emuy. The correct English form is Amoy, spelled A-M-O-Y.

Definition

1
Former name of Xiamen: a prefecture-level city and subprovincial city of Fujian, in southeastern China.
2
The Amoy dialect of the Hokkien language.
3
The Hokkien language.

Etymology

From the Postal Romanization of Hokkien 廈門 /厦门 (Ēe-mûi), specifically the Zhangzhou Hokkien dialect. Compare Spanish Emuy.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Amoy"?

"Amoy" is spelled A-M-O-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈmɔɪ/.

What does "Amoy" mean?

As a proper noun, "Amoy" means: Former name of Xiamen: a prefecture-level city and subprovincial city of Fujian, in southeastern China.

How do you pronounce "Amoy"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Amoy" is /əˈmɔɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "Amoy"?

From the Postal Romanization of Hokkien 廈門 /厦门 (Ēe-mûi), specifically the Zhangzhou Hokkien dialect. Compare Spanish Emuy. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “Amoy”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is A-M-O-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /əˈmɔɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.