JoãovsjoeyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: João is a name, joey is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“João” is a name and “joey” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,851
“João” frequency rank
#14,714
“joey” frequency rank
56565
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature João joey
Definition Prénom masculin portugais. Bébé marsupial (koala, kangourou, opossum, etc.).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set João and joey apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
João
4 ch
joey

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: João is aname and joeyanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

João is recorded at frequency rank #41,851, classified as aname, pronounced \ʒo.ɑ̃\. joey is at rank #14,714, tagged as anoun.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 56565, this pair ranks #120,312 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of João vs joey

Shared letters: jo. Private to "João": ã. Private to "joey": ey.

"João" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "joey" · 4 letters · shape CVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • joeyjeoy · jjoey · joeyy · joye · ojey

Frequency comparison

João#41,851
joey#14,714

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "João" and "joey" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "João" is a name and "joey" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "João" or "joey"?
"joey" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,714 in our French list, against #41,851 for "João". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering João vs joey

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “João”; for a noun, it's “joey”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “João” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list