Achey or Achy? Which One is Correct?

When you want to say something that is painful, you might be confused between the two words. Is it achey or achy? Which one is the correct spelling?

Is achey even a word?

The common word in English dictionaries is “achy”, not achey.

Some people might spell the word “achey” but this is not considered correct.

Ache or Achey? Which one is the correct spelling?

Achy is the adjective form of ache.

Ache itself is a noun.

When a noun, ends with a consonant letter + a vowel letter of “e”, it can be converted into an adjective in a certain way. The common way to do this is by replacing the “e” letter with the “y” letter.

For example:

• “ease” (noun) becomes “easy” (adjective). Not “easey“.
• “grease” (noun) becomes “greasy” (adjective). Not “greasey”.
• “haze” (noun) becomes “hazy” (adjective). Not “hazey”.
• “curve” (noun) becomes “curvy” (adjective). Not “curvey”.

There might be some exceptions when two forms are accepted or the one ending with “y” instead of “ey” is accepted.

For examples:

• price (noun) becomes “pricey” (adjective). Pricy and pricey are both considered correct but “pricey” is more common to use.
• hole (noun) becomes “holey” (adjective). Holy is also grammatically correct but it has totally different meaning.

“Ache” is a noun ending with the letter h+e (a consonant before the letter e). It’s not included in the “exceptional cases”.

You can simply convert “ache” word into an adjective by dropping the letter “e” and replacing it with the “y”.

So, “ache” (noun) becomes “achy” (adjective), not achey.

What does Achy Mean?

Achy is a word to describe something with an ache. Ache itself is a painful feeling when part of your body is suffering from a sickness.

Ache doesn’t commonly stand by its own inside a sentence. It’s typically used as a suffix.

For example:

• headache
• toothache
• stomachache

How to use achy in a sentence

Given the meaning of “ache”, you can now build your own sentence using this word.

Remember that ache is a noun while achy is an adjective.

If someone is suffering from a toothache, they can also say that their tooth is achy.

If someone has a headache, it means that their head feels achy.

Examples of how to use achy in a sentence:

“I really can’t go because my body is all achy.”

“She cannot play outside because her knees are achy.”

“After eating that thing, my stomach is super achy,”

Final thought

So, now that you know which one is correct between achey or achy, you know how to use it in daily life or in writing. Happy learning!