phooey
/ˈfuːi/interjection, noun
phooey is spelled P-H-O-O-E-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 127,184th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an interjection, phooey means “An expression of disgust, rejection, or disappointment” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in phooey?
| Letters | 6: P-H-O-O-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 127,184th 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 phooey?
Phooey appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 127,184th 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 phooey?
- /ˈfuːi/
- /ˈfʊi/
Phooey 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-au-phooey.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of phooey
- phooie
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does phooey mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
interjection
- 1
An expression of disgust, rejection, or disappointment.
noun
- 1
informalhooey; nonsense
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does phooey come from?
Probably from Yiddish פֿוי (foy), from German pfui, influenced by phoo.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).