Words Ending in EH: The Tiniest Club of Borrowed Sounds
Only 22 words in the dictionary end with EH, and most of them arrived in English from Hebrew, Yiddish, or Arabic. FEH is a Yiddish exclamation of disgust. PEH is a Hebrew letter. MIKVEH is a Jewish ritual bath. CHALEH (variant of challah) is braided bread. This ending is practically a census of Semitic loanwords in English — and knowing that fact can narrow your crossword-solving strategy to a razor-sharp focus.
EH itself is a valid two-letter word, which makes it a sneaky parallel play in Scrabble. It scores just 5 points base (E=1, H=4), but dropped next to an existing word, it can pick up 15-20 points by forming two words at once. The longer -EH words like MIKVEH and KIBBEH are less common in word games but show up in crosswords themed around food, religion, or world cultures. For other unusual two-letter endings, compare with words ending in ZA or words ending in W. Puzzle solvers tackling themed grids about language origins should also browse words starting with PH, where Greek loanwords dominate.
FAQ
Is EH valid in Scrabble?
Yes. EH is accepted in both TWL and SOWPODS dictionaries. It's defined as an exclamation used to ask for confirmation or express surprise. At 5 points, it's modest but useful as a hook play. For other short exclamations, see words ending in Z where JEEZ and PIZZAZZ live.
What's the longest word ending in EH?
YESHIVOTH and MADRASSEH at 9 and 8 letters respectively are among the longest -EH words. Most -EH words stay short because they're borrowed directly from other languages without English suffixes added. For more on long borrowed words, check words starting with MONO for Greek-origin length.