my
/maɪ/determiner, interjection
my is spelled M-Y: 2 letters and one syllable. It appears 3,715 times per million words in written English, the 29th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a determiner, my means “Belonging to me” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in my?
| Letters | 2: M-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3,715 times per million words; the 29th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); 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).
How common is my?
My appears 3,715 times per million words in written English, the 29th 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 my?
- /maɪ/
- Canada /mʌɪ/
- Canada [məi̯]
My 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: En-us-my.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with my
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of my
- ma
- mah
- me
- muh
- myo-
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does my mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
determiner
- 1
Belonging to me.
I can't find my book.
- 2
Associated with me.
My seat at the restaurant was uncomfortable.
- 3
Related to me.
My parents won't let me go out tonight.
- 4
In the possession of me.
I have to take my books back to the library soon.
interjection
- 1
Used to express surprise, shock or amazement.
My, what big teeth you have!
noun
- 1
Symbol for megayear(s).
pronoun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of my often used when speaking as God or another important figure who is understood from context.
noun
- 1
Initialism of motor yacht (“diesel-driven yacht”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
My in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense belonging to me:
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 my come from?
From Middle English mi, my, apocopated form of min, myn, from Old English mīn (“my, mine”), from Proto-West Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīnaz (“my, mine”, pron.) (possessive of *ek (“I”)), from Proto-Indo-European *méynos (“my; mine”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).