Decoding the letter Y

The letter **Y**, lowercase **y** (pronounced /waɪ/) represents several sounds as a vowel and also the semivowel /j/.

## As a semivowel

As a semivowel or consonant "y" represents IPA phoneme /j/. There are very few difficulties with this sound, except that the sequence /juː/ may be spelled with "u", "ue" or "ew", with no "y". See IPA phonetic sequence /juː/

* yacht - yard - yawn - yeast - yellow - yes - yesterday - yet - yield - yob - yogurt - you - young - your - youth - yo-yo
* beyond /bɪˈjɒnd/ *or* /biːˈɒnd/*AmE*
* canyon - Kenya
* lawyer /ˈlɔːjər/ *or* /ˈlɔɪər/ - sawyer /ˈsɔːjər/ *or* /ˈsɔɪər/

## As a vowel

**IPA consonants**

### As a single letter

The letter Y, as most vowel letters in English, has four basic pronunciations, identical to those of the letter I:

* So-called “short i”, IPA phoneme /ɪ/, as in *gym, hymn, system* or *lyrics*
* So-called “long i”, IPA phoneme /aɪ/, as in *cry, cycle* or *pyromaniac*
* Long "yr" monophtong (short vowel spelling), IPA phoneme /ɜː/, as in *myrrh*
* Long "yr" triphthong (long vowel spelling), IPA sequence /aɪə/, as in *tyre* (US *tire)* or *lyre*

#### At the end of a word

One syllable
* /aɪ/: by - cry - dry - fly - fry - my - shy - sky - sty - try - why

Several syllables
* /aɪ/: ally - apply - classify - July - multiply *(verb)* - prophesy - satisfy - verify
* /iː/ or /ɪ/: any - astronomy - biology - bully - chemistry - city - company - country - early - easy - every - family - geology - geography - happy - heresy - many - pity - prophecy - robbery - study - very

Adverbs ending in *-ly:* actually - certainly - especially - finally - likely - only - particularly - probably - multiply - really - simply - usually
#### In the middle of the word

One syllable
* /ɪ/: gym - hymn - lynx - myth - sync

Several syllables
* /aɪ/: analyse*BrE*/analyze*AmE* - cycle - g**y**naecology/g**y**necology - hyphen - hypothesis - myopia - myself - psychologist - Wyoming
* /ɪ/: crystal - cynic - homonym - physics - syllable - synthetic - sympathy - symptom - system - typical
* /iː/ or /ɪ/: anyone, anything, anywhere, everyone, everything, everywhere, polygon
* /ə/: analysis - Pennsylvania - pyjamas

As a gerund

* /aɪ/: die/dying - lie/lying

### Combined with a vowel

#### With magic e

Always as /aɪ/ or /aɪə/

* dye - eye - rye
* byte - hype - rhyme - style - thyme - type
* analyse*BrE*/analyze*AmE* - breathalyse*BrE*/breathalyze*AmE* - catalyse*BrE*/catalyze*AmE* - paralyse*BrE*/paralyze*AmE*

For /aɪə/ see #In combination with “r” below.

#### ay

* /eɪ/: away - clay - day - delay - display - essay - gay - gray*AmE* - hay - holiday - lay - may - May - pay - play - repay - relay - say - stay - today - way
* /eɪ/ or /ɪ/: Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday - yesterday

Very often we use "ai" in the middle of the word: raise - train - wait

#### ey

* Unstressed final /iː/ or /ɪ/: alley - chimney - donkey - hockey - honey - jockey - journey - Mickey - money - monkey - turkey - valley - Wembley
* /iː/: key
* /eɪ/: grey*BrE* - hey - survey - they

Very often we use "ei" in the middle of the word: eight - neighbor*AmE* - neighbour*BrE*

#### oy

* /ɔɪ/: boy - employ - enjoy - joy - ploy - Roy - toy
* coyote: /kaɪˈəʊtɪ/ or /kɔɪˈəʊtɪ/

Almost always we use "oi" in the middle of the word: choice - join - point

### In combination with “r”

*Main article: Decoding exercises: "yr"*

* /ɜː/: myrtle - myrrh
* /ɪ/: lyrics - myriad - pyramid - syringe - syrup
* /ə/: martyr
* /aɪ/: thyroid
* Sequence /aɪə/: tyre*BrE*

## Curiosities

Two different pronunciations in same word: gynaecology, psychology

## Homophones

*See main article Homophone.*

* bite - byte; by - buy; die - dye; hay - hey; time - thyme; way - weigh

## Grammar

This section is about words ending in -y pronounced /iː/ or /ɪ/. See also Pronunciation exercises: /ɪ/ vs /iː/ § Unstressed syllable.

Many two-syllable adjectives end in -y:

* dirty - early - happy - pretty - silly - ugly;

In some cases, that **y** is a suffix to nouns and verbs:

* fog - foggy; fun - funny; grease - greasy; mess - messy; noise - noisy; run - runny; sand - sandy; smell - smelly; stick - sticky; sun - sunny; taste - tasty; wind - windy

and, as **-ly**, for adverbs:

* firmly - loudly - noisily - quietly - yearly

Adverbs ending in **-cally** have a silent a.

* automatically, basically, dramatically, specifically, typically

"Y" can also form a noun from an adjective:

* honesty - jealousy - orthodoxy

Another typical use is as a noun in itself or as a diminutive or familiar name (the same words can often be spelt **"-ie"** (auntie/aunty)

* Bobby - Bobbie; caddy - caddie; footie*BrE* - footy*BrE* (football); hippy - hippie; hoody - hoodie; Jimmie - Jimmy; Johnnie - Johnny; tummy (stomach);

As a shortening or clipping

* Indy (Indianapolis); indie (independent); indyref2 (Scotland's independence referendum number 2); telly*BrE* (television)

## See also

* Decoding the letter I
* Decoding exercises: "ie"
* Decoding exercises: "ay"
* Decoding exercises: "ey"
* Decoding exercises: "oy"

## References

1. ↑ "semivowel", Collins English Dictionary
2. ↑ -y1, Oxford Dictionaries
3. ↑ -y3, Oxford Dictionaries
4. ↑ -y2 Oxford Dictionaries

## External links

* "Is the letter Y a vowel or a consonant?" Oxford Dictionaries