forgive

/fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/

//fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv// verb

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

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

The verdict

“forgive” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,672. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,672
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against.

Corpus desk

Index EN-forgive · forgive · English

forgive · rank #4,672 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,672
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH focusing

Nearest frequency peer: focusing (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “forgive”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “forgive” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

forgive vs forgiven
88% similar
forgive vs forge
71% similar
forgive vs Fergie
57% similar

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

Key facts for forgive
PropertyValue
Headwordforgive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,672
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “forgive”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).forgivelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “focusing” (#4,671), “gains” (#4,673), “errors” (#4,670). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “forgive” is #4,672. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around forgive (IPA /fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #4,672 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for forgive, with forms such as "fforgive", "fogrive", and "forggive". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "forgiven", "forge", "Fergie", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Alteration (due to give) of Middle English foryiven, forȝiven, from Old English forġiefan (“to forgive, to give”), from Proto-West Germanic *frageban, from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną (“to give away; give up; release; forgive”), equivalent to for- + give (ety… The correct English form is forgive, spelled F-O-R-G-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against.
  2. 2
    To pardon (something); to waive any negative feeling over or retribution for.
  3. 3
    To waive or remit (a debt), to absolve from payment or compensation of.
  4. 4
    To accord forgiveness.
  5. 5
    To look past; to look beyond.
  6. 6
    To redeem; to offset the bad effects of something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Please forgive me if my phone goes off - I'm expecting an urgent call from my boss.
  2. Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.

Etymology

Alteration (due to give) of Middle English foryiven, forȝiven, from Old English forġiefan (“to forgive, to give”), from Proto-West Germanic *frageban, from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną (“to give away; give up; release; forgive”), equivalent to for- + give (etymologically for- + yive). Cognate with Scots forgeve, forgif, forgie (“to forgive”), West Frisian ferjaan (“to forgive”), Dutch vergeven (“to forgive”), German vergeben (“to forgive”), Icelandic fyrirgefa (“to forgive”), Yiddish פֿאַרגעבן (fargebn, “to forgive”)

This word in other languages

perdonar(Español)pardonner(Français)verzeihen(Deutsch)perdoar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fforgive
  • fogrive
  • forggive
  • forgiev
  • forgivve
  • forgvie
  • forigve
  • forrgive
  • frogive
  • ofrgive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

fforgive1fogrive2forggive1forgiev2forgivve1forgvie2forigve2forrgive1
Edit distance from "forgive"

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 "forgive"?
"forgive" is spelled F-O-R-G-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/.
What does "forgive" mean?
As a verb, "forgive" means: To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against.
What words are commonly confused with "forgive"?
"forgive" is commonly confused with "forgiven", "forge", "Fergie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "forgive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "forgive" is /fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/. 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 "forgive"?
Alteration (due to give) of Middle English foryiven, forȝiven, from Old English forġiefan (“to forgive, to give”), from Proto-West Germanic *frageban, from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną (“to give away; give up; release; forgive”), equivalent to for- +... 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 "forgive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

emperor#4,667handled#4,677inquiry#4,681arguing#4,653

Similar misspelling depth

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

colleges10 variantspowered10 variantsventure10 variantspeoples10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list