moe
/ˈmoʊ.eɪ/noun, adjective
moe is spelled M-O-E: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Moe, the name). As a noun, moe means “Strong interest in, and especially fetishistic attraction towards, fictional characters in anime, manga, video games, and/or similar media” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of moe is moes.
How many letters and syllables are in moe?
| Letters | 3: M-O-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th 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 moe?
Moe appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Moe, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce moe?
- UK /ˈməʊ.eɪ/
- US /ˈmoʊ.eɪ/
Moe 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-moe.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with moe
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: mo, moa, moo, more, mow.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with moe?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as moe (/oʊeɪ/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: emo, ome.
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 moe
- moé
- more moe comparative
- moe-er comparative
- most moe superlative
- moe-est superlative
- moes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does moe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
slangStrong interest in, and especially fetishistic attraction towards, fictional characters in anime, manga, video games, and/or similar media.
- 2
slangA close friend; a nigga, homie or bro.
adjective
- 1
slangCute, adorable. (of fictional characters in anime, manga, video games, and/or similar media)
noun
- 1
Alternative spelling of moe.
Characters from comics and “anime” (animated cartoons and movies) joined the bandwagon as figurines shops and maid cafes were opened one after the other. With that kind of enthusiasm, the word “moé” became widely used among “otaku.”
noun
- 1
Initialism of Ministry of Education.
- 2
Initialism of mixture of experts.
- 3
Initialism of margin of error.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of MoE.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does moe come from?
From Japanese 萌え (moe, “budding, sprouting”), imperfective or continuative form of 萌える (moeru, “to burst into bud, to sprout”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).