“Phony” or “Phoney”

Language

Phony and phoney are both English terms.

Usage

Phony is predominantly used in 🇺🇸 American (US) English (en-US) while phoney is predominantly used in 🇬🇧 British English (used in UK/AU/NZ) (en-GB).

In terms of actual appearance and usage, here's a breakdown by country, with usage level out of 100 (if available) 👇:

Term	US	UK	India	Philippines	Canada	Australia	Liberia	Ireland	New Zealand	Jamaica	Trinidad & Tobago	Guyana
phony	83	50	72	90	71	62	0	52	67	100	100	0
phoney	17	50	28	10	29	38	0	48	33	0	0	0

• In the United States, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (83 to 17).
• In United Kingdom, there is no clear preference between "phony" and "phoney", with usage levels of 50 vs. 50.
• In India, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (72 to 28).
• In the Philippines, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (90 to 10).
• In Canada, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (71 to 29).
• In Australia, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (62 to 38).
• In Liberia, there is not enough data to determine a preference between "phony" and "phoney".
• In Ireland, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (52 to 48).
• In New Zealand, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (67 to 33).
• In Jamaica, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (100 to 0).
• In Trinidad & Tobago, there is a preference for "phony" over "phoney" (100 to 0).
• In Guyana, there is not enough data to determine a preference between "phony" and "phoney".

Examples

Below, we provide some examples of when to use phony or phoney with sample sentences.

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