your

/jɔː(ɹ)/

//jɔː(ɹ)// det

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

"your" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“your” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #31 in English word frequency and used as a determiner.

#31
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Belonging to you; of you; related to you (singular; one owner).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

your vs yu
50% similar
your vs yr
50% similar
your vs yup
50% similar

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

Key facts for your
PropertyValue
Headwordyour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechDeterminer
IPA/jɔː(ɹ)/
Letters4
Frequency rank#31
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “your” 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). your 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 your is 4 letters long, classified as a determiner, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /jɔː(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #31 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for your, with forms such as "oyur", "yoru", and "yourr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "yu", "yr", "yup", 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 your, youre, ȝour, ȝoure, from Old English ēower, īower (“your”, plural), from Proto-West Germanic *iuwar, from Proto-Germanic *izweraz. Cognate with Saterland Frisian jou (“your”), Dutch jouw (“your”), German Low German jo, jos (“your”)… The correct English form is your, spelled Y-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Belonging to you; of you; related to you (singular; one owner).
  2. 2
    Belonging to you; of you; related to you (plural; more owners).
  3. 3
    A determiner that conveys familiarity and mutual knowledge of the modified noun.
  4. 4
    That; the specified (usually used with a human referent)

Etymology

From Middle English your, youre, ȝour, ȝoure, from Old English ēower, īower (“your”, plural), from Proto-West Germanic *iuwar, from Proto-Germanic *izweraz. Cognate with Saterland Frisian jou (“your”), Dutch jouw (“your”), German Low German jo, jos (“your”), German euer (“your”, plural), Danish jeres (“your”).

This word in other languages

tu(Español)votre(Français)dein(Deutsch)teu(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oyur,yoru,yourr,yuor,yyour

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of your - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

oyur2yoru2yourr1yuor2yyour1
Edit distance from "your"

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 "your"?
"your" is spelled Y-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /jɔː(ɹ)/.
What does "your" mean?
As a determiner, "your" means: Belonging to you; of you; related to you (singular; one owner).
What words are commonly confused with "your"?
"your" is commonly confused with "yu", "yr", "yup". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "your"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "your" is /jɔː(ɹ)/. 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 "your"?
From Middle English your, youre, ȝour, ȝoure, from Old English ēower, īower (“your”, plural), from Proto-West Germanic *iuwar, from Proto-Germanic *izweraz. Cognate with Saterland Frisian jou (“your”), Dutch jouw (“your”), German Low German jo, jo... 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 “your”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is Y-O-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /jɔː(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “yu” - see the side-by-side comparison. your vs yu
  • 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