yes

/jɛs/

//jɛs// particle

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

"yes" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“yes” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #301) as a particle. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#301
frequency rank, English
366
“Y” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to show agreement or acceptance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-yes · yes · English

yes · rank #301 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #301
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 366
  • PHOTO-FINISH went

Nearest frequency peer: went (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “yes”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “yes” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

yes vs yo
33% similar
yes vs yu
33% similar
yes vs yr
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for yes
PropertyValue
Headwordyes
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechParticle
IPA/jɛs/
Letters3
Frequency rank#301
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “yes” sits in English frequency

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).yeslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “went” (#300), “actually” (#302), “try” (#299). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for yes is neighbouring look-alikes ("yo", "yu", …), not just typos; it is aparticle pronounced /jɛs/. Frequency #301 among 366 “Y” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for yes in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "yo", "yu", "yr", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English yes, from Old English ġīese (“by all means, of course, yes”), derived from the same root as yea. Compare Faroese júsá (“yes, indeed, certainly”). The correct English form is yes, spelled Y-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Used to show agreement or acceptance.
  2. 2
    Used to indicate disagreement or dissent in reply to a negative statement.
  3. 3
    Answer to a question presuming one answer when all answers are correct.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how yes appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Yes, you are correct.
  2. Yes, you may go play outside now.

Etymology

From Middle English yes, from Old English ġīese (“by all means, of course, yes”), derived from the same root as yea. Compare Faroese júsá (“yes, indeed, certainly”).

Synonyms

arrayayeyeayassuhNauticalmilitarytelecommunications: affirmativeyayahyeahyehyepyeppersyupyuppersyusahuhmhmuh huhye-esalso: Thesaurus:yesaffirmativeardaindeedindeedyjaouiuh-huhyassyayuhyepperoniyeppityyeryesyeshyessireeyessumyissyuppity

Antonyms

noNauticalmilitarytelecommunications: negativenayixnaynahnawnopealso: Thesaurus:no

This word in other languages

sí(Español)oui(Français)ja(Deutsch)sim(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 "yes"?
"yes" is spelled Y-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /jɛs/.
What does "yes" mean?
As a particle, "yes" means: Used to show agreement or acceptance.
What words are commonly confused with "yes"?
"yes" is commonly confused with "yo", "yu", "yr". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "yes"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yes" is /jɛs/. 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 "yes"?
From Middle English yes, from Old English ġīese (“by all means, of course, yes”), derived from the same root as yea. Compare Faroese júsá (“yes, indeed, certainly”). 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 "yes", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

try#299job#296far#295run#309

What to do next

You've looked up "yes". Here's where to go from here.

  • "yes" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "yo". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #301 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "Y" letter cohort. Y–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list