aye
/aɪ/interjection, verb, noun
aye is spelled A-Y-E: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “ay vs aye” about 10 times a month (Bing, United States). As an interjection, aye means “Yes; yea; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in aye?
| Letters | 3: A-Y-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.8 times per million words; the 8,417th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 aye?
Aye appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce aye?
- /aɪ/
As an adverb (“Ever, always”): /eɪ/, /aɪ/.
As an interjection (“Alternative spelling of ay (question tag)”): /eɪ/, [æe̯].
As an interjection (“Alternative spelling of eh”): /eɪ/.
Aye has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-aye.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with aye
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with aye?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as aye.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: yea.
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 aye
- ay
- oy
- ayes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- ayeing participle, present
- ayed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does aye mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
interjection
- 1
Yes; yea; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question.
- 2
A word used to acknowledge a command from a superior, usually preceded by a verbatim repeat-back.
- 3
Alternative spelling of ay: expressing anger, alarm, frustration, pain, etc.
- 4
Used in aye aye.
- 5
Alternative spelling of ay (question tag).
- 6
Alternative spelling of eh.
verb
- 1
To respond with an "aye".
noun
- 1
An affirmative vote; one who votes in the affirmative.
to call for the ayes and nays
adverb
- 1
archaicEver, always.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Aye in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense yes:
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 aye come from?
"Appears suddenly about 1575, and is exceedingly common about 1600." Probably from use of aye (“ever, always”) as expression of agreement or affirmation, or from Middle English a ye (“oh yes”), or synthesis of both. Compare Faroese ája (“certainly, ah yes”). More at oh, yea. Online Etymology Dictionary also with these posits a possible descent from I (as if clipped from e.g. "I assent").
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).