boy

\bɔj\

/\bɔj\/ noun

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

The verdict

“boy” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,553 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,553
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Dans les colonies, valet, domestique.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

boy vs by
67% similar
boy vs bu
33% similar
boy vs Br
0% similar

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

Key facts for boy
PropertyValue
Headwordboy
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bɔj\
Letters3
Frequency rank#4,553
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “boy” sits in French 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). boy 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 French entry for boy is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bɔj\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,553 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

boy has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "bu", "Br", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is boy, spelled B-O-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dans les colonies, valet, domestique.
  2. 2
    Jeune danseur de revue.
  3. 3
    Jeune garçon de piste affecté à diverses tâches durant la représentation du spectacle d'un cirque.
  4. 4
    Jeune garçon anglais.
  5. 5
    Ami, gars.
  6. 6
    Support élévateur, sorte de cric utilisé en laboratoire pour ajuster la hauteur de ce qui est posé dessus.

Synonyms

serviteur

This word in other languages

Diener(Deutsch)

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "boy"?
"boy" is spelled B-O-Y. The IPA pronunciation is \bɔj\.
What does "boy" mean?
As a noun, "boy" means: Dans les colonies, valet, domestique.
What words are commonly confused with "boy"?
"boy" is commonly confused with "by", "bu", "Br". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "boy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "boy" is \bɔj\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "boy" come from?
"boy" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “boy”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-O-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bɔj\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “by” - see the side-by-side comparison. boy vs by
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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