List of two-letter English words Details, Meaning List of two-letter English words Article and Explanation Guide

List of two-letter English words Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

The English language contains various two-letter words. Here is a list of such words. Some of these words are debatable, because they are archaic, slang, proper names, or words borrowed from other languages.

Table of contents

1 English Words
2 English use in a foreign phrase
3 Abbreviations
4 Words acceptable in Scrabble
5 Headline text

5.1 OSPD - Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary (US)
5.2 OSW - Official Scrabble Words - Chambers (UK/Australia etc.)
5.3 SOWPODS/OSWI: a combination of OSPD and OSW used for International competition

6 See also

English Words

aa – a type of lava having a rough surface (pronounced "ah - ah")
Ab – alternate romanization of av
ae – one adj. (chiefly Scots)
ah – an interjection used to express various emotions such as surprise, delight, disgust, or pain
ai – a three-toed South American sloth
al – East Indian tree; also a hirsute creature said in Persian mythology to devour the souls of unborn children
am – first person singular present indicative of the verb "to be"
an – the indefinite article used before vowel sounds
Ao – the god of the clouds in Polynesian mythology
ar – the letter "R"
as – a preposition meaning "to the same extent or degree"
at – a preposition meaning "in the area occupied by"
av – a month of the Hebrew calendar
aw – an interjection used variously to express sympathy, tenderness, disapproval, or disbelief by means of slight differences in pronunciation
ax – axe
ay – alternate spelling of aye
ba – part of the Egyptian soul; also to kiss (archaic)
be – to exist
bo – friend; also a weapon used in martial artss; also a sacred Indian fig tree
by – preposition meaning "near to"
ch – I (obsolete)
da – a heavy Burmese knife
de – preposition meaning of or from in names and in phrases recently borrowed from the Latin or French (de jure, de facto, coup de grace)
di – a plural of deus (a god)
do – to execute; also first tone of the diatonic scale
ea – a river (obsolete); also (with initial capital) the god of water in Babylonian mythology
'e'e – an extinct Hawaiian bird
ef – the letter "F"
eh – an interjection used to indicate lack of understanding
el – the letter "L"; also the god of rain in Canaanite mythology; also short for "elevated train"
em – a type of dash used in typesetting; the letter "M"
en – a type of dash used in typesetting; the letter "N"
er – an interjection expressing hesitation
es – the letter "S"
et – a past tense form of "to eat"
ex – the letter "X"; also one's former spouse or love interest; also used to mean "out of" in such phrases as ex cathedra or ex libris.
fa – fourth tone of the diatonic scale
fy – an interjection expressing disgust (fie)
Ga – a language spoken in Ghana
ge – alternate spelling of Gaia
gi – a judo or karate costume
go – to move; also an oriental board game
gu – a simple violin used in Shetland (gju, gue)
ha – an interjection expressing triumph; also (with initial capital) the god of the deserts in Egyptian mythology
he – third person singular masculine nominative pronoun
hi – hello
hm – and interjection expressing thought (hmm); also (as HM) used as an abbreviation of "His (or Her) Majesty"
ho – interjection used to attract attention; also a contraction of hoe (high ground) as in Westward Ho; also a contraction of whore (slang)
Hu – the god of the creation word in Egyptian mythology
id – one of the three components of the psyche
if – a conjunction meaning "in the event that"
I'm – contraction of "I am"
in – a preposition meaning "inside"
io – an interjection; (all the following are with initial capital) the daughter of Inachus in Greek mythology; also a moon of Jupiter; also an alternate spelling of Kiho; also a Hawaiian species of hawk
is – third person singular present indicative of "to be"
it – third person singular neutral pronoun
Ix – one of the Bacabs in Maya mythology
jo – dear, sweetheart (Scots)
ka – Part of the Egyptian soul
ki – alternative spelling of qi from Japanese
Ku – alternative spelling of Tu from Hawaiian
la – sixth tone of the diatonic scale
li – a unit of distance; also (with initial capital) an ethnic minority in southern China
lo – an interjection meaning "look!"
ma – mother; also used in some dialects to mean "my"
me – first-person singular objective-case pronoun; a variant of "mi"; also a concept in Sumerian mythology; also used in some dialects to mean "my"
mi – third tone of the diatonic scale
mm – an interjection expressing satisfaction
mu – a letter in the Greek alphabet; also (with initial capital) the name of hypothetical vanished continent in the Pacific Ocean
my – first person singular possessive adjective
na – no, not (obsolete)
n� – born with the name of (the male form of "n�e")
no – not any; also a general negative response; no. is also an abbreviation of the word "number"
nu – a letter in the Greek alphabet; also (with initial capital) the god of the ocean in Egyptian mythology; also (with initial capital) an ethnic minority in China
Ob – a river in Siberia (one of the largest rivers in the world)
od – an alleged power used to produce mesmerism; also the husband of Freya in Norse mythology
oe – one; wind (Faroe Islands)
of – derived from or belonging to
oh – an interjection indicating surprise
oi – a cry of joy (whee); also a sub-genre of punk music
om – a mystic syllable used by Hindus & Buddhists in various religious rites
on – a preposition meaning "above and in contact with"
oo – a rare Hawaiian bird (pronounced "oh-oh"); also a Scottish word for "wool"
or – a conjunction used to indicate an alternative; also a tincture in heraldry
os – narrow ridge of gravel and sand (esker); also orifice
ou – an interjection expressing concession
ow – an interjection indicating sudden pain
ox – a bovine mammal with hooves
oy – an interjection to draw someone's attention
pa – father
pe – a letter in the Hebrew alphabet
pi – a letter in the Greek alphabet and a mathematical constant
po – a chamber pot
qi – Chinese life force (chi)
Ra – the god of the sun in Egyptian mythology; also an alternative spelling of Roua
re – second tone of the diatonic scale; also an alternative spelling of Ra
ri – a mythical creature said to be half human and half jellyfish
Ro – a constructed language of the "philosophical" type (words from similar categories begin with similar letters), invented by the Rev. Edward Powell Foster with his wife
Ru – a fertility god in Polynesian mythology
sh – an interjection urging silence
si – a note in the diatonic scale; also (with initial capital) the god of the moon in Mochican mythology
so – to the amount or degree expressed or understood; also a question asking what logically follows from a statement; also fifth tone of the diatonic scale
st – an exclamation of impatience
ta – thank you (British)
te – seventh tone of the diatonic scale
ti – a small tree; also the seventh tone of the diatonic scale
to – towards
Tu – the god of war in Polynesian mythology
Ua – the god of rain in Polynesian mythology
ug – to cause hatred
uh – an interjection expressing hesitation
Ul – the god of the moon in Polynesian mythology
um – an interjection expressing hesitation
un – one
up – to increase; a vertical direction opposite of down
Ur – a city in ancient Mesopotamia
us – the first person plural objective-case pronoun
ut – musical tone in French solmization system
ve – a less common alternative to sie; (with initial capital) the brother of Odin in Norse mythology
Wa – an ethnic minority in southwestern China
we – the first person plural nominative-case pronoun
Wi – the god of the sun in Lakota mythology
wo – alternate spelling of woe
Wu – a dialect of the Chinese language
xe – alternate spelling of sie
xi – a letter in the Greek alphabet
xu – a Vietnamese monetary unit
ya – yes; also you
ye – you (subject or nominative); also the (archaic spelling), using y for the letter thorn)
Yi – a minority language in China
yo – interjection used to call attention (American)
yu – a precious jade
zi – a type of pseudonym used in Imperial China
zo – a Himalayan cross between a yak and a cow (also dzo)

English use in a foreign phrase

Several more of our two-letter words exist as parts of set phrases imported from other languages.

ao – in ao dai (the Vietnamese garment)
et – in et cetera
id – in id est (the expanded form of i.e.)
la – in sao la, a Vietnamese ox of the genus Pseudoryx, first discovered in the 1990s
pu – repeated twice in pu pu platter
se – from per se
vu – as in d�j� vu

Abbreviations

Many two-letter words are abbreviations, or apocopations of longer words. They are frequently slang or informal words.

ab – an abdominal muscle (slang)
ad – advertisement
ag – pertaining to agriculture
bi – bisexual (slang)
ec – economics (especially after "home")
ed – education (informal); also editor
ep – episode (slang)
eq – equalizer (for music recording)
mo – moment
op – operator (slang); also operation; opportunity (as in photo op); optical (as in op art); or opinion (as in op-ed)
Oz – nickname for the land of Australia
ph – pH (potential for hydrogen; power of hydrogen) a measure of acidity
'za – an abbreviation from the end of pizza