Which to use
“forego” and “forgo” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,297
- “forego” frequency rank
- #29,282
- “forgo” frequency rank
- 64579
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | forego | forgo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To precede, to go before. | To do without (something enjoyable); to relinquish. |
Where the eye mixes forego and forgo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. forego runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against forgo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses forego with forgo
A purely visual mix-up. forego (/fɔɹˈɡoʊ/) and forgo (/fɔːˈɡəʊ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64579, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
forego is recorded at frequency rank #35,297, classified as averb, pronounced /fɔɹˈɡoʊ/. 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 64579, this pair ranks #77,000 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of forego vs forgo
Shared letters: fgor. Private to "forego": e. Private to "forgo": -.
"forego" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "forgo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "forego" and "forgo" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "forego" vs "forgo" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "forego" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "forgo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #77,000 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "forego" and "forgo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "forego vs Fredo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #77,000 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.