joey
/ˈd͡ʒoʊ.i/noun
joey is spelled J-O-E-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.3 times per million words in written English, the 8,036th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, joey means “The immature young of a marsupial, notably a junior kangaroo, but also a young wallaby, koala, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of joey is joeys.
How many letters and syllables are in joey?
| Letters | 4: J-O-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.3 times per million words; the 8,036th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is joey?
Joey appears 8.3 times per million words in written English, the 8,036th 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 joey?
- /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.i/
Joey has 2 syllables (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: En-us-joey.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of joey
- joeys plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does joey mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The immature young of a marsupial, notably a junior kangaroo, but also a young wallaby, koala, etc.
- 2
AustraliaslangA young child.
- 3
Ellipsis of joey word.
- 4
IrelandUKslangA parcel smuggled in to an inmate.
- 5
A kind of clown.
- 6
UKslangA member of the Royal Marines.
- 7
datedderogatoryoffensiveslangA person with cerebral palsy.
- 8
datedderogatoryoffensiveslangA stupid person.
- 9
UKobsoleteslangA fourpenny piece, or its value; fourpence worth.
a joey of brandy
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Joey in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense kangaroo joey:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | junges Känguruh |
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 joey come from?
Unknown. Older and more general sources state that joey comes from an Australian Aboriginal language (cited as joè), but newer sources that focus on Australian English and Aboriginal languages say the origin is unknown. The Australian National Dictionary includes a sense of “young possum” with citations predating the earliest “young kangaroo” citations.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).