goodbye

/ɡʊdˈbaɪ/

//ɡʊdˈbaɪ// intj

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

"goodbye" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“goodbye” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,305. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,305
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-goodbye · goodbye · English

goodbye · rank #4,305 · 10 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,305
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gates

Nearest frequency peer: gates (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “goodbye”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “goodbye” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

goodbye vs goody
71% similar
goodbye vs goode
71% similar
goodbye vs goodie
71% similar

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

Key facts for goodbye
PropertyValue
Headwordgoodbye
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/ɡʊdˈbaɪ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,305
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “goodbye” 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). goodbye lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around goodbye (IPA /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/), aninterjection. Corpus frequency is #4,305 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for goodbye, with forms such as "ggoodbye", "godbye", and "godobye". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "goody", "goode", "goodie", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier goodby, Godby, Godby'e, Godbwye, God b'w'y, God bwy yee, God buy you, God be wi' you, each a progressively shorter contraction of God be with ye or God be with you. Note the change of God to good by confusion with good morning, good night, etc.… The correct English form is goodbye, spelled G-O-O-D-B-Y-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Goodbye! - Goodbye, Anna.

Etymology

From earlier goodby, Godby, Godby'e, Godbwye, God b'w'y, God bwy yee, God buy you, God be wi' you, each a progressively shorter contraction of God be with ye or God be with you. Note the change of God to good by confusion with good morning, good night, etc. Modernly analysed as good + bye.

Synonyms

adieufarewellbyebye-byecatch you latermind how you goyayouyou in the funny papersso longta tatatty byetoodelootoodlesTTFNttyltarabuh-byecyahasta la vistalaterlaterskeep it realpeacepeace outtake it easycatch you on the flip sideadiosarrivederciau revoirdo svidanyado svidaniyasayonaracheeriocheerscheery-byetoodle pipalso: Thesaurus:goodbyealohaauf WiedersehenbadbyeBCNUciaochurgood dayGodspeedbabyhave a nice dayhoorooI have to love you and leave youlatesee yasee yousee you aftersee you in the funny paperssee you latersee you later alligatorshalomsmell ya latersmell you latertake careta-tatinkety-tonktoodle-oo

Antonyms

hello

This word in other languages

adiós(Español)bon vent(Français)auf Wiedersehen(Deutsch)adeus(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggoodbye
  • godbye
  • godobye
  • goobdye
  • goodbbye
  • goodbey
  • goodbyye
  • gooddbye
  • goodybe
  • ogodbye

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of goodbye - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ggoodbye1godbye1godobye2goobdye2goodbbye1goodbey2goodbyye1gooddbye1
Edit distance from "goodbye"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "goodbye"?
"goodbye" is spelled G-O-O-D-B-Y-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/.
What does "goodbye" mean?
As an interjection, "goodbye" means: Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing.
What words are commonly confused with "goodbye"?
"goodbye" is commonly confused with "goody", "goode", "goodie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "goodbye"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "goodbye" is /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/. 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 "goodbye"?
From earlier goodby, Godby, Godby'e, Godbwye, God b'w'y, God bwy yee, God buy you, God be wi' you, each a progressively shorter contraction of God be with ye or God be with you. Note the change of God to good by confusion with good morning, good n... 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 "goodbye", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fortune#4,303Hillary#4,308failing#4,301Vietnam#4,281

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

partly10 variantssymbol10 variantstouched10 variantswarriors10 variants
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list