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Is YA a valid word?

Y4
A1

Yes. YA is a valid word.

YA is valid in the North American word list used for the Scrabble board game and other crossword tile games.

YA is in the NASPA Word List 2023 (NWL2023), the North American list that Tileside uses for challenges and the one used in club and tournament play.

Meaning

An Asian pear.

More on Wiktionary

About YA

YA is a kind of Asian pear, round and crisp, grown in China for centuries. The Y is worth 4, and YA is one of its few two-letter homes, along with AY, BY, MY, OY, YE and YO.

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YA scores 5 points

Before any bonus squares: Y 4 + A 1 = 5. On a double-word square that's 10, on a triple-word 15, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

Y4
A1

Example: YA as the first play

YA through the ★: Y 4 + A 1 = 5, and the ★ doubles the first word: 10 points. New tiles are outlined.

Later in the game, put the Y on a 3L square and YA is worth 13 before any word bonus.

Hooks: one tile makes a new word

In front of YA (2):

  • PYA100 pyas equal 1 kyat in Myanmar
  • RYAa shag rug made in Sweden

After YA (9):

  • YAG
  • YAH
  • YAKnoisy talk
  • YAMedible tuber of any of several yams
  • YAPbark in a high-pitched tone
  • YAR
  • YAS
  • YAWan erratic deflection from an intended course
Show 1 more back hooks

Place that one tile so it also forms a word in the other direction and both words score.

Longer words from YA

Other forms of YA (1):

Words that start with YA:

Show 4 more words
  • YAMSform of YAM: edible tuber of any of several yams
  • YANGthe bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
  • YANKpull, or move with a sudden movement
  • YAPSform of YAP: bark in a high-pitched tone

Change one tile

Swap any one letter of YA and these are still words:

  • AArough, cindery lava
  • BAthe eternal soul, in Egyptian mythology
  • DAdad; father
  • FAthe fourth tone of the diatonic musical scale
  • HAa sound of surprise
  • KAthe spiritual self of a human being in Egyptian religion
  • LAthe sixth tone of the diatonic musical scale
  • MAmother
Show 4 more words
  • NAno; not
  • PAa father
  • TAan expression of gratitude
  • ZAa pizza

Same letters, other words

These use exactly the letters of YA:

  • AYaye, a yes vote
Add one tile: words from these letters plus one more

YA + B

  • ABYmake amends for
  • BAYan indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf

YA + C

  • CAYa coral reef off the southern coast of Florida

YA + D

  • DAYtime for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

YA + E

YA + F

  • FAYa small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers

YA + G

YA + H

  • HAYgrass mowed and cured for use as fodder
  • YAH

YA + J

  • JAYa bird of genus Platylophus

Memory tip

YA is the ya pear, a crisp, juicy Asian pear. Reverse it for AY.

On these lists

Other two-letter words starting with Y

Check words at the table, free

Tileside keeps score, checks words like this one during a challenge, tracks the tiles left in the bag and times turns. It runs in your phone's browser with no account and works offline.

Score a gameStudy short words

Tileside checks words against the North American list, the NASPA Word List 2023. Your group's chosen dictionary always wins. Playing the international (Collins) list? Turn on its 20 extra two-letter words in Setup.

Word list: NASPA Word List 2023, used under license. NASPA Word List 2023 Edition © NASPA 2023. The copy included in this app is licensed for personal use. You may not use it for any commercial purposes.

Works with the Scrabble board game, played at the table. Tileside is an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Scrabble.