# four

> English word · Numeral · IPA /foɹ/ · frequency rank #272

## Definitions
1. A numerical value equal to 4; the number after three and before five; two plus two. This many dots (••••)
2. Describing a set or group with four elements.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *kʷetwóres
From Middle English four, from Old English fēower, from Proto-West Germanic *feuwar, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from previous pre-Grimm *petwṓr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr, the neuter form of *kʷetwóres. Doublet of cuatro and quatre.
Cognates include Scots fower, Saterland Frisian fjauer, West Frisian fjouwer, Dutch vier, German Low German veer, German vier, Norwegian Bokmål and Danish fire, Swedish fyra, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌳𐍅𐍉𐍂 (fidwōr) and, more distantly, Latin quattuor (whence Spanish cuatro, French quatre), Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares), Irish ceathair, Welsh pedwar, Armenian չորս (čʻors), Lithuanian keturi, Albanian katër, Sanskrit चतुर् (catur).

## Easily confused with
- **fu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fu)
- **fun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fun)
- **fox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fox)
- **fur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fur)
- **foy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-foy)
- **fut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fut)
- **fury** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fury)
- **fowl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fowl)
- **foxy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-foxy)
- **furs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-furs)
- **Foxx** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-foxx)
- **foyer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-foyer)
- **fourth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fourth)
- **fo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fo-vs-four)
- **for** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/for-vs-four)
- **far** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/far-vs-four)
- **flu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flu-vs-four)
- **fog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fog-vs-four)
- **foe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/foe-vs-four)
- **fir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fir-vs-four)

## Common misspellings (5)
`ffour`, `foru`, `fourr`, `fuor`, `ofur`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/four