yo

\jo\

/\jo\/ intj

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

The verdict

“yo” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #8,323) as an interjection. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#8,323
frequency rank, French
198
“Y” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Interjection qui a la signification de salut.

Corpus desk

Index FR-yo · yo · French

yo · rank #8,323 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,323
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 198
  • PHOTO-FINISH Wall

Nearest frequency peer: Wall (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “yo”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “yo” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

yo vs yu
50% similar
yo vs yt
50% similar
yo vs you
67% similar

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

Key facts for yo
PropertyValue
Headwordyo
LanguageFrench
Part of speechInterjection
IPA\jo\
Letters2
Frequency rank#8,323
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “yo” sits in French frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).yo lands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for yo is neighbouring look-alikes ("yu", "yt", …), not just typos; it is aninterjection pronounced \jo\. Frequency #8,323 among 198 “Y” headwords. Gloss: "Interjection qui a la signification de salut.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for yo, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "yu", "yt", "you", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is yo, spelled Y-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Interjection qui a la signification de salut.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how yo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ève (de son vrai prénom Ève-Angélina) et Naïla, les inséparables, comme on les nomme dans la cité, arrivent en compagnie d’Abdel et de Moussa. - Yo, salut. - Salut ! Salut ! répondent plusieurs.

This word in other languages

yo(English)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "yo"?
"yo" is spelled Y-O. The IPA pronunciation is \jo\.
What does "yo" mean?
As an interjection, "yo" means: Interjection qui a la signification de salut.
What words are commonly confused with "yo"?
"yo" is commonly confused with "yu", "yt", "you". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "yo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yo" is \jo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "yo" come from?
"yo" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

What to do next

You've looked up "yo". Here's where to go from here.

  • "yo" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "yu". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #8,323 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "Y" letter cohort. Y–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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