ay
Spanish, interjection/ˈai/
ay is spelled A-Y (2 letters) and appears 56 times per million words in written Spanish, the 1,550th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ay is a Spanish interjection meaning “ah!, alas!” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Expresa dolor o pena”.
What does ay mean in English?
interjection
- 1
ah!, alas!
- 2
woe!
- 3
expresses pain, sorrow, or surprise
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
interjection: 1. Expresa dolor o pena. 2. De manera enfática («¡aaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!»), denota falta de valentía, o rechazo hacia los hombres homosexuales o afeminados.
noun: 1. Suspiro, quejido.
adverb: 1. Grafía obsoleta de ahí.
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of ay
- ¡ay! canonical
- ayes plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce ay?
- /ˈai/
- [ˈai̯]
- [ˈaj]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to ay
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ay in Spanish?
ay appears 56 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).