goy
/ɡɔɪ/
"goy" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“goy” is an uncommon English word, ranked #67,484 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #67,484
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A non-Jew, a gentile.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | goy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɡɔɪ/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #67,484 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “goy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for goy is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɔɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #67,484 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for goy, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Biblical Hebrew גּוֹי (goi)bor. Yiddish גוי (goy)bor. English goy Borrowed from Yiddish גוי (goy, “gentile”), borrowed from Biblical Hebrew גּוֹי (goi, “nation”). The term goy does not technically refer to non-Jews, but rather to a nation per… The correct English form is goy, spelled G-O-Y.
Definition
- 1A non-Jew, a gentile.
- 2Synonym of shabbos goy (“a gentile thought to be subservient to Jewish people”)
Etymology
Etymology tree Biblical Hebrew גּוֹי (goi)bor. Yiddish גוי (goy)bor. English goy Borrowed from Yiddish גוי (goy, “gentile”), borrowed from Biblical Hebrew גּוֹי (goi, “nation”). The term goy does not technically refer to non-Jews, but rather to a nation per se; the Jews are said to constitute a goy. But through common usage – namely referring to "the [other non-Jewish] nations" – the word came to colloquially refer to non-Jews.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “goy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-O-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡɔɪ/ (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.