boyish

/ˈbɔɪ.ɪʃ/

//ˈbɔɪ.ɪʃ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"boyish" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“boyish” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,350. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,350
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Like a stereotypical boy in appearance or demeanor.

Corpus desk

Index EN-boyish · boyish · English

boyish · rank #37,350 · 9 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,350
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bosworth

Nearest frequency peer: Bosworth (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “boyish”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “boyish” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

boyish vs boys
67% similar
boyish vs Bois
50% similar
boyish vs bosh
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for boyish
PropertyValue
Headwordboyish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbɔɪ.ɪʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#37,350
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “boyish”

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

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Bosworth” (#37,349), “bps” (#37,351), “Boro” (#37,348). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “boyish” is #37,350. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around boyish (IPA /ˈbɔɪ.ɪʃ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #37,350 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for boyish, with forms such as "bboyish", "boiysh", and "boyihs". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "boys", "Bois", "bosh", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From boy + -ish. The correct English form is boyish, spelled B-O-Y-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Like a stereotypical boy in appearance or demeanor.
  2. 2
    Relating to a boy, or occurring in boyhood.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how boyish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. People disliked his boyish and juvenile behaviour.
  2. Her boyish figure belied her femininity.

Etymology

From boy + -ish.

This word in other languages

muchachil(Español)jungenhaft(Deutsch)pueril(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bboyish
  • boiysh
  • boyihs
  • boyishh
  • boyissh
  • boysih
  • boyyish
  • byoish
  • obyish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of boyish - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bboyish1boiysh2boyihs2boyishh1boyissh1boysih2boyyish1byoish2
Edit distance from "boyish"

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 "boyish"?
"boyish" is spelled B-O-Y-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɔɪ.ɪʃ/.
What does "boyish" mean?
As an adjective, "boyish" means: Like a stereotypical boy in appearance or demeanor.
What words are commonly confused with "boyish"?
"boyish" is commonly confused with "boys", "Bois", "bosh". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "boyish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "boyish" is /ˈbɔɪ.ɪʃ/. 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 "boyish"?
From boy + -ish. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "boyish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bonsai#37,347bonham#37,346bushel#37,357Bhopal#37,342

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

barked9 variantsbantam9 variantsBacchus9 variantsauguste9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list