foreign

/ˈfɒɹɪn/

//ˈfɒɹɪn// adj

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

"foreign" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“foreign” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #875. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#875
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.

Corpus desk

Index EN-foreign · foreign · English

foreign · rank #875 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #875
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH financial

Nearest frequency peer: financial (-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 “foreign”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “foreign” 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).

foreign vs foreman
71% similar
foreign vs foreigner
78% similar
foreign vs feign
71% similar

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

Key facts for foreign
PropertyValue
Headwordforeign
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfɒɹɪn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#875
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “foreign” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). foreign lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around foreign (IPA /ˈfɒɹɪn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #875 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for foreign, with forms such as "fforeign", "foerign", and "foregin". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "foreman", "foreigner", "feign", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal Englis… The correct English form is foreign, spelled F-O-R-E-I-G-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.
  2. 2
    Originating from, characteristic of, belonging to, or being a citizen of a country or place other than the one under discussion.
  3. 3
    Relating to a different nation.
  4. 4
    Not characteristic of or naturally taken in by an organism or system.
  5. 5
    Alien; strange; uncharacteristic.
  6. 6
    Held at a distance; excluded; exiled.
  7. 7
    From a different legal jurisdiction (state, province), even if within the same country.
  8. 8
    Belonging to a different organization, company etc.
  9. 9
    Outside, outdoors, outdoor.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. foreign markets; foreign soil
  2. He liked visiting foreign cities.

Etymology

From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal English fremd, from Old English fremde (“strange, foreign”). The silent -g- added perhaps by analogy with reign (compare also sovereign which was similarly altered).

Synonyms

overseasinternationalalienfremdextraneousacquiredadditionaladventitiousascititiousforeignintrusiveoutlandishstrangesupplementaltramontane

Antonyms

domesticnativeindigenousinnatenatural

This word in other languages

extraño(Español)étranger(Français)fremd(Deutsch)estrangeiro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fforeign
  • foerign
  • foregin
  • foreiggn
  • foreignn
  • foreing
  • foriegn
  • forreign
  • froeign
  • ofreign

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of foreign - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

fforeign1foerign2foregin2foreiggn1foreignn1foreing2foriegn2forreign1
Edit distance from "foreign"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "foreign"?
"foreign" is spelled F-O-R-E-I-G-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɒɹɪn/.
What does "foreign" mean?
As an adjective, "foreign" means: Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.
What words are commonly confused with "foreign"?
"foreign" is commonly confused with "foreman", "foreigner", "feign". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foreign"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foreign" is /ˈfɒɹɪn/. 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 "foreign"?
From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialec... 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 "foreign", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Michael#880council#866written#861website#860

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

European10 variantssimply10 variantsJanuary10 variantsFrench10 variants

What to do next

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

  • "foreign" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "foreman". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #875 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