neigh

/neɪ/

//neɪ// noun

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

"neigh" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“neigh” is uncommon English (frequency #53,726 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,726
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The cry of a horse.

Corpus desk

Index EN-neigh · neigh · English

neigh · rank #53,726 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,726
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nebulae

Nearest frequency peer: nebulae (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “neigh”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “neigh” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for neigh
PropertyValue
Headwordneigh
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/neɪ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#53,726
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “neigh” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).neighfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “nebulae” (#53,725), “Nessa” (#53,727), “Nebuchadnezzar” (#53,724). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “neigh” is #53,726. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

neigh is uncommon English at frequency #53,726 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /neɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The cry of a horse.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for neigh in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English neyen, from Old English hnǣġan, from Proto-West Germanic *hnaijan, from Proto-Germanic *hnajjaną (“to neigh”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch neien, Middle Low German neigen, Swedish gnägga, Icelandic hneggja. The correct English form is neigh, spelled N-E-I-G-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    The cry of a horse.

Etymology

From Middle English neyen, from Old English hnǣġan, from Proto-West Germanic *hnaijan, from Proto-Germanic *hnajjaną (“to neigh”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch neien, Middle Low German neigen, Swedish gnägga, Icelandic hneggja.

This word in other languages

relincho(Español)hennissement(Français)Wiehern(Deutsch)relincho(Português)

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

How do you spell "neigh"?
"neigh" is spelled N-E-I-G-H. The IPA pronunciation is /neɪ/.
What does "neigh" mean?
As a noun, "neigh" means: The cry of a horse.
How do you pronounce "neigh"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "neigh" is /neɪ/. 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 "neigh"?
From Middle English neyen, from Old English hnǣġan, from Proto-West Germanic *hnaijan, from Proto-Germanic *hnajjaną (“to neigh”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch neien, Middle Low German neigen, Swedish gnägga, Icelandic hneggja. 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 "neigh", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Nessa#53,727Nikko#53,731oriel#53,747Maxie#53,686

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list