Which to use
“forego” and “forgot” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,297
- “forego” frequency rank
- #2,347
- “forgot” frequency rank
- 37644
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | forego | forgot |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To precede, to go before. | simple past of forget |
Where the eye mixes forego and forgot
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between forego and forgot
A purely visual mix-up. forego (/fɔɹˈɡoʊ/) and forgot (/fəˈɡɒt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37644, 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/. forgot is at rank #2,347, tagged as averb, pronounced /fəˈɡɒt/.
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 37644, this pair ranks #292,815 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of forego vs forgot
Shared letters: fgor. Private to "forego": e. Private to "forgot": t.
"forego" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "forgot" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "forego" and "forgot" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "forego" vs "forgot" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "forego" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "forgot" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #292,815 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "forego" and "forgot" 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 #292,815 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.