Phonics word list

Oy words

In short

Oy spells the diphthong /oi/ when that sound ends a word or syllable: boy, toy and enjoy. Our checked list has 60 words where oy says /oi/.

At a glance

Words in our list: 60
By syllables: one syllable: 10 · two syllables: 29 · three or more syllables: 21
Taught in: Lesson 95 in the sequence

Oy 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

10 words, most common first.

One syllable
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
boy	b·oy	1	Lesson 95
joy	j·oy	1	Lesson 95
toy	t·oy	1	Lesson 95
boys	b·oy·s	1	Lesson 95
ploy	p·l·oy	1	Lesson 95
toys	t·oy·s	1	Lesson 95
coy	c·oy	1	Lesson 95
joys	j·oy·s	1	Lesson 95
ploys	p·l·oy·s	1	Lesson 95
toyed	t·oy·ed	1	Lesson 95

Two syllables

29 words, most common first.

Two syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
annoy	a·nn·oy	2	Lesson 95
enjoy	e·n·j·oy	2	Lesson 95
annoys	a·nn·oy·s	2	Lesson 95
annoyed	a·nn·oy·ed	2	Lesson 95
destroy	d·e·s·t·r·oy	2	Lesson 95
destroys	d·e·s·t·r·oy·s	2	Lesson 95
destroyed	d·e·s·t·r·oy·ed	2	Lesson 95
loyal	l·oy·a·l	2	Lesson 95
royal	r·oy·a·l	2	Lesson 95
employ	e·m·p·l·oy	2	Lesson 95
enjoys	e·n·j·oy·s	2	Lesson 95
employs	e·m·p·l·oy·s	2	Lesson 95
enjoyed	e·n·j·oy·ed	2	Lesson 95
employed	e·m·p·l·oy·ed	2	Lesson 95
coyer	c·oy·er	2	Lesson 95
boyish	b·oy·i·sh	2	Lesson 95
cowboy	c·ow·b·oy	2	Lesson 96
joyful	j·oy·f·u·l	2	Lesson 95
joying	j·oy·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
royals	r·oy·a·l·s	2	Lesson 95
toying	t·oy·i·ng	2	Lesson 95
bellboy	b·e·ll·b·oy	2	Lesson 95
boyhood	b·oy·h·oo·d	2	Lesson 95
cowboys	c·ow·b·oy·s	2	Lesson 96
joystick	j·oy·s·t·i·ck	2	Lesson 95
boyfriend	b·oy·f·r·ie·n·d	2	Lesson 95
schoolboy	s·ch·oo·l·b·oy	2	Lesson 95
boyfriends	b·oy·f·r·ie·n·d·s	2	Lesson 95
schoolboys	s·ch·oo·l·b·oy·s	2	Lesson 95

Three or more syllables

21 words, most common first.

Three or more syllables
Word	Spelling units	Syllables	Readable after
annoying	a·nn·oy·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
employee	e·m·p·l·oy·ee	3	Lesson 95
destroying	d·e·s·t·r·oy·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
employer	e·m·p·l·oy·er	3	Lesson 95
enjoying	e·n·j·oy·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
annoyance	a·nn·oy·a·n·c·e	3	Lesson 95
employees	e·m·p·l·oy·ee·s	3	Lesson 95
employers	e·m·p·l·oy·er·s	3	Lesson 95
employing	e·m·p·l·oy·i·ng	3	Lesson 95
enjoyment	e·n·j·oy·m·e·n·t	3	Lesson 95
employment	e·m·p·l·oy·m·e·n·t	3	Lesson 95
enjoyable	e·n·j·oy·a·b·le	4	Lesson 95
unemployment	u·n·e·m·p·l·oy·m·e·n·t	4	Lesson 95
royally	r·oy·a·ll·y	3	Lesson 95
disloyal	d·i·s·l·oy·a·l	3	Lesson 95
joyfully	j·oy·f·u·ll·y	3	Lesson 95
destroyer	d·e·s·t·r·oy·er	3	Lesson 95
destroyers	d·e·s·t·r·oy·er·s	3	Lesson 95
enjoyments	e·n·j·oy·m·e·n·t·s	3	Lesson 95
employments	e·m·p·l·oy·m·e·n·t·s	3	Lesson 95
annoyances	a·nn·oy·a·n·c·e·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	58
Lesson 96	2

How do you teach oy words?

Pair oy with oi. "Oy is the end partner." Read boy, toy, joy, enjoy, annoy. Add -s, -ed and -ing (toys, enjoyed, annoying) to show that oy stays when a suffix follows.

What mistake do students make with oy words?

Students write oi at the end (boi). Ask, "Is /oi/ the last sound?" Yes means oy.

Where do oy words come in the sequence?

Oy is taught with oi. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 95.

Exceptions worth knowing

Oyster and loyal put oy before another sound, since oy ends the syllable. Voyage is the same.

Decodable sentences

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

The boy has a toy.
I enjoy my toys.
Toys bring joy.

Questions people ask

What are 5 oy words?

Boy, joy, annoy, enjoy, annoys. Those are the five most common of the 60 words where oy says /oi/ in our checked list.

Why is boy spelled with oy?

English avoids ending words in i, so /oi/ at the end is spelled oy.

What are common oy words?

Boy, toy, joy, enjoy, annoy, destroy, royal and loyal.

When can a student read oy words?

Oy words are taught at Lesson 95 in the lesson sequence we use. 58 of the 60 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.