# youth

> English word · Noun · IPA /juːθ/ · frequency rank #1,850

## Definitions
1. The quality or state of being young.
2. The part of life following childhood; the period of existence preceding maturity or age; the whole early part of life, from childhood, or, sometimes, from infancy, to adulthood.
3. A young person.
4. A young man; a male adolescent or young adult.
5. Young persons, collectively.

## Etymology
From Middle English youthe, youghte, ȝouþe, from Old English ġeoguþ (“the state of being young; youth”), from Proto-West Germanic *juwunþa, from Proto-Germanic *jugunþō, *jugunþiz (“youth”), corresponding to young + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Juugd, West Frisian jeugd, Dutch jeugd, German Low German Jöögd, German Jugend.

## Easily confused with
- **yuh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/youth-vs-yuh)
- **youths** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/youth-vs-youths)
- **you** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/you-vs-youth)
- **your** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/your-vs-youth)
- **yous** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yous-vs-youth)
- **young** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/young-vs-youth)
- **you'd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/you-d-vs-youth)
- **yours** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/yours-vs-youth)
- **you's** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/you-s-vs-youth)

## Common misspellings (7)
`oyuth`, `yotuh`, `youht`, `youthh`, `youtth`, `yuoth`, `yyouth`

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