false

/fɔːls/

//fɔːls// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"false" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“false” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,345. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,345
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Untrue, not factual, factually incorrect.

Corpus desk

Index EN-false · false · English

false · rank #2,345 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,345
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH falls

Nearest frequency peer: falls (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “false”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “false” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

false vs fas
60% similar
false vs fast
60% similar
false vs fans
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for false
PropertyValue
Headwordfalse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/fɔːls/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,345
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “false” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).falselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “falls” (#2,344), “fired” (#2,346), “experienced” (#2,343). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around false (IPA /fɔːls/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,345 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for false, with forms such as "aflse", "fales", and "fallse". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fas", "fast", "fans", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman an… The correct English form is false, spelled F-A-L-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Untrue, not factual, factually incorrect.
  2. 2
    Based on factually incorrect premises.
  3. 3
    Spurious, artificial.
  4. 4
    Of a state in Boolean logic that indicates a negative result.
  5. 5
    Uttering falsehood; dishonest or deceitful.
  6. 6
    Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous.
  7. 7
    Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous.
  8. 8
    Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
  9. 9
    Used in the vernacular name of a species (or group of species) together with the name of another species to which it is similar in appearance.
  10. 10
    Out of tune.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how false appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Also the rule of false position, with dyuers examples not onely vulgar, but some appertaynyng to the rule of Algeber.
  2. false legislation, false punishment

Etymology

From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman and Old French fals, faus. Compare Scots fals, false, Saterland Frisian falsk, German falsch, Dutch vals, Swedish and Danish falsk; all from Latin falsus. Displaced native Middle English les, lese, from Old English lēas (“false”); See lease, leasing. Doublet of faux. The verb is from Middle English falsen, falsien, from Old French falser, from Latin falsō (“falsify”), itself also from falsus; compare French fausser (“to falsify, to distort”).

Synonyms

lease

This word in other languages

falso(Español)faux(Français)falsch(Deutsch)errado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aflse
  • fales
  • fallse
  • falsse
  • fasle
  • ffalse
  • flase

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of false - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aflse2fales2fallse1falsse1fasle2ffalse1flase2
Edit distance from "false"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "false"?
"false" is spelled F-A-L-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /fɔːls/.
What does "false" mean?
As an adjective, "false" means: Untrue, not factual, factually incorrect.
What words are commonly confused with "false"?
"false" is commonly confused with "fas", "fast", "fans". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "false"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "false" is /fɔːls/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "false"?
From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "false", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

falls#2,344fired#2,346dying#2,340blame#2,330

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

causes7 variantsnovel7 variantsvotes7 variantssmile7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "false". Here's where to go from here.

  • "false" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "fas". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,345 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list