yet

/jɛt/

//jɛt// adv

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

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

The verdict

“yet” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #269 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.

#269
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Thus far; up to the present; up to some unspecified time.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

yet vs yo
33% similar
yet vs yu
33% similar
yet vs yr
33% similar

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

Key facts for yet
PropertyValue
Headwordyet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/jɛt/
Letters3
Frequency rank#269
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “yet” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). yet lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for yet is 3 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /jɛt/. Corpus data places it at rank #269 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

yet has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. 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: Inherited from Middle English yet, yit, from Old English ġīet, gȳta, from Proto-West Germanic *jūta, from Proto-Germanic *juta (compare West Frisian jit, jitte (“yet”), Dutch ooit (“ever”), German jetzt (“now”)), compound of (1) *ju (“already”, adverb), fro… The correct English form is yet, spelled Y-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Thus far; up to the present; up to some unspecified time.
  2. 2
    Thus far; up to the present; up to some unspecified time.
  3. 3
    Thus far; up to the present; up to some unspecified time.
  4. 4
    At some future time; eventually.
  5. 5
    Not as of the time referenced.
  6. 6
    In addition.
  7. 7
    Even.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English yet, yit, from Old English ġīet, gȳta, from Proto-West Germanic *jūta, from Proto-Germanic *juta (compare West Frisian jit, jitte (“yet”), Dutch ooit (“ever”), German jetzt (“now”)), compound of (1) *ju (“already”, adverb), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew-, accusative of *h₂óyu (“long time”) and (2) the Proto-Germanic *ta (“to, towards”), from Proto-Indo-European *do. More at aye and -th.

Synonyms

even nowstillerenowso farto datehithertoformerlyat lastin timesooner or latereventuallysubsequentlystillbesidesfurthermoreoveradditionallystill

This word in other languages

aún(Español)jusqu'à présent(Français)noch(Deutsch)ainda(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 "yet"?
"yet" is spelled Y-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /jɛt/.
What does "yet" mean?
As an adverb, "yet" means: Thus far; up to the present; up to some unspecified time.
What words are commonly confused with "yet"?
"yet" 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 "yet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yet" is /jɛt/. 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 "yet"?
Inherited from Middle English yet, yit, from Old English ġīet, gȳta, from Proto-West Germanic *jūta, from Proto-Germanic *juta (compare West Frisian jit, jitte (“yet”), Dutch ooit (“ever”), German jetzt (“now”)), compound of (1) *ju (“already”, ad... 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.

Using “yet”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is Y-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /jɛt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “yo” - see the side-by-side comparison. yet vs yo
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list