favourite
/ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/
"favourite" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“favourite” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,624 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #2,624
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.)
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 | favourite |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #2,624 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “favourite” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for favourite is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,624 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for favourite, with forms such as "afvourite", "faovurite", and "favoruite". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "favorite", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested from the 1580s, borrowed from Middle French favorit, from Old French favorit or Italian favorito (“favoured, favourite”), past participle of Italian favorire (“to favor”), from favore, from Latin favor (“good will, favor”), from the verb faveō (“I … The correct English form is favourite, spelled F-A-V-O-U-R-I-T-E.
Definition
- 1Most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.)
- 2Liked, cherished.
Etymology
Attested from the 1580s, borrowed from Middle French favorit, from Old French favorit or Italian favorito (“favoured, favourite”), past participle of Italian favorire (“to favor”), from favore, from Latin favor (“good will, favor”), from the verb faveō (“I favour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine, glow light”). Doublet of favori.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: afvourite,faovurite,favoruite,favouirte,favouriet,favouritte,favourrite,favourtie,favuorite,favvourite,ffavourite,fvaourite
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of favourite - 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
How do you spell "favourite"?
What does "favourite" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "favourite"?
How do you pronounce "favourite"?
What is the origin of the word "favourite"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “favourite”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-A-V-O-U-R-I-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “favorite” - see the side-by-side comparison. favourite vs favorite
- 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.