Which to use
“forgave” and “forgive” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,466
- “forgave” frequency rank
- #4,672
- “forgive” frequency rank
- 32138
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | forgave | forgive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past of forgive | To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against. |
Where the eye mixes forgave and forgive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between forgave and forgive
A purely visual mix-up. forgave (/fə(ɹ)ˈɡeɪv/) and forgive (/fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/) 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 a single letter - a in “forgave” becomes i in “forgive”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32138, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
forgave is recorded at frequency rank #27,466, classified as averb, pronounced /fə(ɹ)ˈɡeɪv/. forgive is at rank #4,672, tagged as averb, pronounced /fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/.
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 32138, this pair ranks #340,342 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of forgave vs forgive
Shared letters: efgorv. Private to "forgave": a. Private to "forgive": i.
"forgave" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "forgive" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "forgave" and "forgive" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "forgave" or "forgive" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "forgave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "forgive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #340,342 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "forgave" and "forgive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "forgave vs forsake". 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 #340,342 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.