Phonics word list

Oi words

In short

Oi spells the diphthong /oi/ in the middle of a word or syllable, as in coin, boil and point. Our checked list has 133 words where oi says /oi/.

At a glance

Words in our list: 133
By syllables: one syllable: 45 · two syllables: 62 · three or more syllables: 26
Taught in: Lesson 95 in the sequence

Oi words, most common first

Spelling units show how each word breaks into the letters that spell one sound; a_e is a vowel and silent e working together. Readable after is the first lesson where a student can sound out the whole word.

One syllable

45 words, most common first.

One syllable
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
oil	oi·l	1	Lesson 95
join	j·oi·n	1	Lesson 95
joins	j·oi·n·s	1	Lesson 95
joint	j·oi·n·t	1	Lesson 95
noise	n·oi·s·e	1	Lesson 95
point	p·oi·n·t	1	Lesson 95
voice	v·oi·c·e	1	Lesson 95
choice	ch·oi·c·e	1	Lesson 95
joined	j·oi·n·ed	1	Lesson 95
points	p·oi·n·t·s	1	Lesson 95
boil	b·oi·l	1	Lesson 95
coin	c·oi·n	1	Lesson 95
soil	s·oi·l	1	Lesson 95
void	v·oi·d	1	Lesson 95
boils	b·oi·l·s	1	Lesson 95
coins	c·oi·n·s	1	Lesson 95
spoil	s·p·oi·l	1	Lesson 95
boiled	b·oi·l·ed	1	Lesson 95
coined	c·oi·n·ed	1	Lesson 95
joints	j·oi·n·t·s	1	Lesson 95
spoils	s·p·oi·l·s	1	Lesson 95
coil	c·oi·l	1	Lesson 95
foil	f·oi·l	1	Lesson 95
loin	l·oi·n	1	Lesson 95
oils	oi·l·s	1	Lesson 95
toil	t·oi·l	1	Lesson 95
broil	b·r·oi·l	1	Lesson 95
coils	c·oi·l·s	1	Lesson 95
foils	f·oi·l·s	1	Lesson 95
foist	f·oi·s·t	1	Lesson 95
hoist	h·oi·s·t	1	Lesson 95
moist	m·oi·s·t	1	Lesson 95
oiled	oi·l·ed	1	Lesson 95
poise	p·oi·s·e	1	Lesson 95
soils	s·oi·l·s	1	Lesson 95
toils	t·oi·l·s	1	Lesson 95
voids	v·oi·d·s	1	Lesson 95
coiled	c·oi·l·ed	1	Lesson 95
foiled	f·oi·l·ed	1	Lesson 95
hoists	h·oi·s·t·s	1	Lesson 95
poised	p·oi·s·ed	1	Lesson 95
soiled	s·oi·l·ed	1	Lesson 95
toiled	t·oi·l·ed	1	Lesson 95
voiced	v·oi·c·ed	1	Lesson 95
broiled	b·r·oi·l·ed	1	Lesson 95

Two syllables

The 60 most common of 62 words. 2 more are in our list.

Two syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
avoid	a·v·oi·d	2	Lesson 95
noisy	n·oi·s·y	2	Lesson 95
avoids	a·v·oi·d·s	2	Lesson 95
joining	j·oi·n·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
pointed	p·oi·n·t·ed	2	Lesson 95
pointing	p·oi·n·t·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
pointless	p·oi·n·t·l·e·ss	2	Lesson 95
devoid	d·e·v·oi·d	2	Lesson 95
noises	n·oi·s·e·s	2	Lesson 95
poison	p·oi·s·o·n	2	Lesson 95
toilet	t·oi·l·e·t	2	Lesson 95
voices	v·oi·c·e·s	2	Lesson 95
appoint	a·pp·oi·n·t	2	Lesson 95
boiling	b·oi·l·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
choices	ch·oi·c·e·s	2	Lesson 95
coining	c·oi·n·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
exploit	e·x·p·l·oi·t	2	Lesson 95
jointly	j·oi·n·t·l·y	2	Lesson 95
pointer	p·oi·n·t·er	2	Lesson 95
poisons	p·oi·s·o·n·s	2	Lesson 95
toilets	t·oi·l·e·t·s	2	Lesson 95
appoints	a·pp·oi·n·t·s	2	Lesson 95
exploits	e·x·p·l·oi·t·s	2	Lesson 95
pointers	p·oi·n·t·er·s	2	Lesson 95
poisoned	p·oi·s·o·n·ed	2	Lesson 95
spoiling	s·p·oi·l·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
viewpoint	v·i·ew·p·oi·n·t	2	Not in the sequence
standpoint	s·t·a·n·d·p·oi·n·t	2	Lesson 95
viewpoints	v·i·ew·p·oi·n·t·s	2	Not in the sequence
oily	oi·l·y	2	Lesson 95
boiler	b·oi·l·er	2	Lesson 95
oiling	oi·l·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
recoil	r·e·c·oi·l	2	Lesson 95
rejoin	r·e·j·oi·n	2	Lesson 95
voided	v·oi·d·ed	2	Lesson 95
boilers	b·oi·l·er·s	2	Lesson 95
broiler	b·r·oi·l·er	2	Lesson 95
choicer	ch·oi·c·er	2	Lesson 109
coiling	c·oi·l·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
foiling	f·oi·l·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
foisted	f·oi·s·t·ed	2	Lesson 95
hoisted	h·oi·s·t·ed	2	Lesson 95
invoice	i·n·v·oi·c·e	2	Lesson 95
jointed	j·oi·n·t·ed	2	Lesson 95
recoils	r·e·c·oi·l·s	2	Lesson 95
rejoins	r·e·j·oi·n·s	2	Lesson 95
toiling	t·oi·l·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
voicing	v·oi·c·i·ng	2	Lesson 109
voiding	v·oi·d·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
broilers	b·r·oi·l·er·s	2	Lesson 95
broiling	b·r·oi·l·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
choicest	ch·oi·c·e·s·t	2	Lesson 109
disjoint	d·i·s·j·oi·n·t	2	Lesson 95
hoisting	h·oi·s·t·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
invoiced	i·n·v·oi·c·ed	2	Lesson 95
pinpoint	p·i·n·p·oi·n·t	2	Lesson 95
recoiled	r·e·c·oi·l·ed	2	Lesson 95
rejoined	r·e·j·oi·n·ed	2	Lesson 95
loincloth	l·oi·n·c·l·o·th	2	Lesson 95
pinpoints	p·i·n·p·oi·n·t·s	2	Lesson 95

Three or more syllables

26 words, most common first.

Three or more syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
avoided	a·v·oi·d·ed	3	Lesson 95
avoiding	a·v·oi·d·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
paranoid	p·a·r·a·n·oi·d	3	Not in the sequence
appointed	a·pp·oi·n·t·ed	3	Lesson 95
exploited	e·x·p·l·oi·t·ed	3	Lesson 95
poisoning	p·oi·s·o·n·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
appointing	a·pp·oi·n·t·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
disappoint	d·i·s·a·pp·oi·n·t	3	Lesson 95
exploiting	e·x·p·l·oi·t·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
appointment	a·pp·oi·n·t·m·e·n·t	3	Lesson 95
disappoints	d·i·s·a·pp·oi·n·t·s	3	Lesson 95
appointments	a·pp·oi·n·t·m·e·n·t·s	3	Lesson 95
paranoia	p·a·r·a·n·oi·a	4	Not in the sequence
disappointed	d·i·s·a·pp·oi·n·t·ed	4	Lesson 95
exploitation	e·x·p·l·oi·t·a·tion	4	Lesson 119
disappointing	d·i·s·a·pp·oi·n·t·i·ng	4	Lesson 95
disappointment	d·i·s·a·pp·oi·n·t·m·e·n·t	4	Lesson 95
unavoidable	u·n·a·v·oi·d·a·b·le	5	Lesson 95
noisier	n·oi·s·i·er	3	Lesson 110
noisily	n·oi·s·i·l·y	3	Lesson 110
noisiest	n·oi·s·i·e·s·t	3	Lesson 110
pointedly	p·oi·n·t·e·d·l·y	3	Lesson 95
rejoining	r·e·j·oi·n·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
disjointed	d·i·s·j·oi·n·t·ed	3	Lesson 95
avoidable	a·v·oi·d·a·b·le	4	Lesson 95
disappointments	d·i·s·a·pp·oi·n·t·m·e·n·t·s	4	Lesson 95

When do these words become readable?

The lessons where the most words on this page become decodable. Words marked not in the sequence have a spelling the sequence never teaches as a pattern.

Lessons where the most words on this page become readable
Readable after	Words
Lesson 95	122
Lesson 109	3
Lesson 110	3
Lesson 119	1
Not in the sequence	4

How do you teach oi words?

Teach oi with oy. "Oi in the middle, oy at the end." Read oil, coin, boil, join, point, soil. Have the student feel the glide from round lips to a smile.

What mistake do students make with oi words?

Students spell coin as coyn. Position: is /oi/ at the end? If not, oi. Reading errors are rare once the team is known.

Where do oi words come in the sequence?

Oi and oy are usually taught together, after the long vowel teams. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 95.

Exceptions worth knowing

In doing and going, o and i are in separate syllables. Choir is a rare word where oi says something else.

Decodable sentences

Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 95 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.

Boil the oil.
Point to the coin.
The soil is moist.

Questions people ask

What are 5 oi words?

Oil, join, joins, joint, noise. Those are the five most common of the 133 words where oi says /oi/ in our checked list.

When do you use oi instead of oy?

Oi goes in the middle of a word or syllable (coin, boil). Oy goes at the end (boy, enjoy).

What are common oi words?

Oil, coin, boil, join, point, voice, noise and choice.

When can a student read oi words?

Oi words are taught at Lesson 95 in the lesson sequence we use. 122 of the 133 words on this page can be sounded out by then; the rest wait for a pattern taught later, and the tables show the lesson for each word.

How this list was built

Every word comes from our lexicon of common English words, each split into spelling units and checked against a pronouncing dictionary, so a word is listed under the sound its spelling really makes. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out. The readable after lesson comes from our decodability engine, which checks each spelling unit and syllable pattern against the lesson sequence. You can run your own text through the same engine with the free decodable text checker.