friendly

/ˈfɹɛnd.li/

//ˈfɹɛnd.li// adj

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

"friendly" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“friendly” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,300. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,300
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Generally warm, approachable and easy to relate with in character.

Corpus desk

Index EN-friendly · friendly · English

friendly · rank #2,300 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,300
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH flowers

Nearest frequency peer: flowers (-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 “friendly”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “friendly” 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).

friendly vs friends
75% similar
friendly vs friend
75% similar

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

Key facts for friendly
PropertyValue
Headwordfriendly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfɹɛnd.li/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,300
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “friendly” 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). friendly 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 13 spelling variants around friendly (IPA /ˈfɹɛnd.li/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,300 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for friendly, with forms such as "ffriendly", "firendly", and "freindly". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "friends", "friend", 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 frendly, freendly, frendely, frendlich, from Old English frēondlīċ, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndlīkaz, equivalent to friend + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian früntelk, fjuntelk (“friendly”), West Frisian freonlik (“friendly”), Dutch … The correct English form is friendly, spelled F-R-I-E-N-D-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Generally warm, approachable and easy to relate with in character.
  2. 2
    Inviting, characteristic of friendliness.
  3. 3
    Having an easy or accepting relationship with something.
  4. 4
    Compatible with, or not damaging to (the compounded noun).
  5. 5
    Without any hostility.
  6. 6
    Promoting the good of any person; favourable; propitious.
  7. 7
    Of or pertaining to friendlies (friendly noun sense 2, below). Also applied to other bipolar confrontations, such as team sports.
  8. 8
    Being or relating to two or more natural numbers with a common abundancy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Your cat seems very friendly.
  2. They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups. The boy became volubly friendly and bubbling over with unexpecte…

Etymology

From Middle English frendly, freendly, frendely, frendlich, from Old English frēondlīċ, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndlīkaz, equivalent to friend + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian früntelk, fjuntelk (“friendly”), West Frisian freonlik (“friendly”), Dutch vriendelijk (“friendly”), German Low German fründelk, frünnelk (“friendly”), German freundlich (“friendly”). Doublet of friendlike.

Synonyms

affectionateamiableamicablechummycompanionablecongenialcordialfacilefamiliarfriendlygenialhospitablemateypersonablesimpaticowelcoming

Antonyms

hostileunfriendlynon-friendlynonfriendlybrusquestandoffish

This word in other languages

amistoso(Español)amical(Français)freundlich(Deutsch)amigável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffriendly
  • firendly
  • freindly
  • friednly
  • frienddly
  • friendlly
  • friendlyy
  • friendyl
  • frienldy
  • frienndly
  • frinedly
  • frriendly
  • rfiendly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ffriendly1firendly2freindly2friednly2frienddly1friendlly1friendlyy1friendyl2
Edit distance from "friendly"

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 "friendly"?
"friendly" is spelled F-R-I-E-N-D-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɹɛnd.li/.
What does "friendly" mean?
As an adjective, "friendly" means: Generally warm, approachable and easy to relate with in character.
What words are commonly confused with "friendly"?
"friendly" is commonly confused with "friends", "friend". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "friendly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "friendly" is /ˈfɹɛnd.li/. 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 "friendly"?
From Middle English frendly, freendly, frendely, frendlich, from Old English frēondlīċ, from Proto-Germanic *frijōndlīkaz, equivalent to friend + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian früntelk, fjuntelk (“friendly”), West Frisian freonlik (“friendly... 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 "friendly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

millions#2,304extended#2,293properly#2,307conflict#2,285

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

corporate13 variantsdetermine13 variantsministry13 variantspositions13 variants

What to do next

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

  • "friendly" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "friends". View pair
  • 13 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,300 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