student asking question

What is the difference between "boys" and "guys"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Good question! The word "boy" generally refers to a young male child while "guy" refers to a male who is older than a child, so either a young man or a man. When used casually, "guys" can also be used to refer to multiple people at once, male or female. "Boys" in the plural refers to multiple boys or male children. Ex: Come here boys, your father is calling you. Ex: I'm going to see a basketball game with the guys. Ex: Hey guys! How's it going? In the first example sentence, "boys" refers to young male children. In the second example sentence, "guys" is referring to multiple men. In the last sentence, "guys" refers to people in the plural, either male or female.

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