Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seventh if including W) vowel letter of the English alphabet.

a, e, i, o, u . Consonants are the rest of the letters in the alphabet: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y and z . The letter y is a bit different, because sometimes it acts as a consonant and sometimes it acts as a vowel.

In the middle of words, the 'Y' functions basically as the vowel 'i' as in “myth” or “system.” However, just like the letter 'i' it must follow the 'final e' long vowel rule as in words such as “type” and “byte.” At the ends of words, the 'Y' plays double duty.