# soya

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɔɪ.ə/ · frequency rank #40,026

## Definitions
1. Alternative form of soy.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Dutch soja; from the Satsuma dialectal Japanese そや (soya), which is the topicalized form of 醤油 (そい, soi) (cognate to standard Japanese 醤油 (しょうゆ, shōyu)), from , orthographic borrowing from Middle Chinese 醬油 (tsjàng-yuw), from 醬 (tsjangᴴ, “bean paste”) + 油 (“oil”).

## Easily confused with
- **Sy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-sy)
- **spy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-spy)
- **spa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-spa)
- **STA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-sta)
- **Syd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-syd)
- **syn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-syn)
- **SSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-ssa)
- **sry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-sry)
- **Suga** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-suga)
- **Styx** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-styx)
- **sura** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-sura)
- **Soyuz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-soyuz)
- **Surya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soya-vs-surya)
- **so** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/so-vs-soya)
- **SA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sa-vs-soya)
- **say** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/say-vs-soya)
- **son** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/son-vs-soya)
- **sea** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sea-vs-soya)
- **sky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sky-vs-soya)
- **shy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shy-vs-soya)

## Common misspellings (5)
`osya`, `soay`, `soyya`, `ssoya`, `syoa`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/soya