foravsforgoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fora is a noun, forgo is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fora” is a noun and “forgo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,817
“fora” frequency rank
#29,282
“forgo” frequency rank
69099
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fora forgo
Definition plural of forum; alternative form of forums To do without (something enjoyable); to relinquish.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fora and forgo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
fora
5 ch
forgo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fora is anoun and forgoaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fora is recorded at frequency rank #39,817, classified as anoun. forgo is at rank #29,282, tagged as averb, pronounced /fɔːˈɡəʊ/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 69099, this pair ranks #55,976 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fora vs forgo

Shared letters: for. Private to "fora": a. Private to "forgo": g.

"fora" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "forgo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • foraffora · foar · forra · froa · ofra
  • forgofforgo · fogro · forggo · forog · forrgo · frogo · ofrgo

Frequency comparison

fora#39,817
forgo#29,282

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fora" and "forgo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fora" is a noun and "forgo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fora" or "forgo"?
"forgo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,282 in our English list, against #39,817 for "fora". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fora vs forgo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “fora”; for a verb, it's “forgo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fora” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list