favor
/ˈfeɪ.və/
"favor" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“favor” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,576 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,576
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | favor |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfeɪ.və/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #2,576 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “favor” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for favor is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfeɪ.və/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,576 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for favor, with forms such as "afvor", "faovr", and "favorr". 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, "for", "flor", "floor", 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 favour, favor, faver, from Anglo-Norman favour, from mainland Old French favor, from Latin favor (“good will; kindness; partiality”), from faveō (“to be kind to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”… The correct English form is favor, spelled F-A-V-O-R.
Definition
- 1A kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).
- 2Goodwill; benevolent regard.
- 3A small gift; a party favor.
- 4Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity.
- 5The object of regard; person or thing favoured.
- 6Appearance; look; countenance; face.
- 7Partiality; bias
- 8A letter, a written communication.
- 9A resemblance, likeness.
- 10Anything worn publicly as a pledge of a woman's favor.
- 11A ribbon or similar small item that is worn as an adornment, especially in celebration of an event.
Etymology
From Middle English favour, favor, faver, from Anglo-Norman favour, from mainland Old French favor, from Latin favor (“good will; kindness; partiality”), from faveō (“to be kind to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine, glow light”). Respelled in American English to more closely match its Latin etymon. Compare also Danish favør (“favor”), Irish fabhar (“favor”), from the same Romance source.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: afvor,faovr,favorr,favro,favvor,ffavor,fvaor
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of favor - 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.
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
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Using “favor”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-A-V-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfeɪ.və/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “for” - see the side-by-side comparison. favor vs for
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.