yo-yo

\jo.jo\

/\jo.jo\/ noun

The verdict

“yo-yo” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Variante, dans l'orthographe traditionnelle, de yoyo.

Corpus desk

Index FR-yo-yo · yo-yo · French

yo-yo · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "Y" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for yo-yo
PropertyValue
Headwordyo-yo
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\jo.jo\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « yo-yo » en français

yo-yosiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

yo-yo is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \jo.jo\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for yo-yo, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is yo-yo, spelled Y-O---Y-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Variante, dans l'orthographe traditionnelle, de yoyo.
  2. 2
    Variante, dans l'orthographe traditionnelle, de yoyo.
  3. 3
    Variante, dans l'orthographe traditionnelle, de yoyo.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. En prison, de nombreux détenus pratiquent la technique du yo-yo.
  2. Finalement, c’est le yo-yo confinement-déconfinement qui est invivable.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "yo-yo"?
"yo-yo" is spelled Y-O---Y-O. The IPA pronunciation is \jo.jo\.
What does "yo-yo" mean?
As a noun, "yo-yo" means: Variante, dans l'orthographe traditionnelle, de yoyo.
How do you pronounce "yo-yo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yo-yo" is \jo.jo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "yo-yo" come from?
"yo-yo" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list