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PlainSpell

native

na·tiveUK /ˈneɪtɪv/adjective, noun

native is spelled N-A-T-I-V-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (na·tive). It appears 49 times per million words in written English, the 2,072nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, native means “Belonging to one by birth or ancestry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in native?

Letters6: N-A-T-I-V-E
Syllables2: na·tive
In writing49 times per million words; the 2,072nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is native?

Native appears 49 times per million words in written English, the 2,072nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce native?

  • UK /ˈneɪtɪv/
  • /ˈneɪtəv/
  • /ˈneɪtɪv/

Native has 2 syllables, split na·tive in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-native.ogg, En-au-Native.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with native?

3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as native from its last stressed vowel (/eɪtɪv/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of native

  • more native comparative
  • most native superlative
  • natives plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does native mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Belonging to one by birth or ancestry.

    This is my native land.

  2. 2

    Characteristic of or relating to people inhabiting a region from prehistoric times.

    Many native artists studied abroad.

  3. 3

    Alternative letter-case form of Native (of or relating to the native inhabitants of the Americas, or of Australia).

  4. 4

    Born or grown in the region in which it lives or is found; not foreign or imported.

    native oysters or strawberries

  5. 5

    Which occurs of its own accord in a given locality, to be contrasted with a species introduced by humans.

    The naturalized Norway maple often outcompetes the native North American sugar maple.

  6. 6

    Pertaining to the system or architecture in question.

    This is a native back-end to gather the latest news feeds.

  7. 7

    Occurring naturally in its pure or uncombined form.

    native aluminium

  8. 8

    Arising by birth; having an origin; born.

noun

  1. 1

    A person who is native to a place; a person who was born in a place.

  2. 2

    A person of aboriginal descent, as distinguished from a person who was or whose ancestors were foreigners or settlers/colonizers. Alternative letter-case form of Native (aboriginal inhabitant of the Americas or Australia).

  3. 3

    A native speaker.

  4. 4

    A native plant or animal.

  5. 5

    An oyster of species Ostrea edulis.

adjective

as Native
  1. 1

    Aboriginal to a colonized region, especially one colonized by English-speaking people. (Compare native, which is more general.)

  2. 2

    CanadaUSIndian: Native American or First Nation; of or relating to (North) American Indians.

    Indian agents actas a government representatives to communities of Native North Americans.

  3. 3

    AustraliaAboriginal; of or relating to Australian Aboriginal peoples, Aborigines.

    He did not ask the Council to sanction the removal of all restrictions on Native lands, but simply asked that such lands as are to be rated under this Bill should have their titles freed in so far as to enable the Native owners to lease tho

  4. 4

    Related to black Africans, especially Bantu.

noun

as Native
  1. 1

    An aboriginal inhabitant of a colonized region, especially one colonized by English-speaking people. (Compare native, which is more general.)

  2. 2

    CanadaUSA Native American.

  3. 3

    AustraliaAn Aborigine.

  4. 4

    datedoffensiveA black African, especially a Bantu.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Native in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmaternel (belonging to one by birth), autochtone, indigène (characteristic of or relating to people…), natif (born or grown in the region in which it lives…), endémique (biology: which occurs of its own accord in a…)
Germangebürtig (belonging to one by birth), einheimisch (born or grown in the region in which it lives…), Ureinwohner, Ureinwohnerin, Eingeborener, Eingeborene (person who is native to a place)
Portuguesenativo (belonging to one by birth), indígena (characteristic of or relating to people…), oriundo (born or grown in the region in which it lives…), selvagem (person who is native to a place)
Spanishnativo, oriundo (born or grown in the region in which it lives…), indígena (person who is native to a place)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does native come from?

Inherited from Middle English natif, from Old French natif, from Latin nātīvus, from nātus (“birth”). Doublet of naive and neif. Displaced native Middle English thedisch, equivalent to (puristic) theed + -ish. By surface analysis, Latin nat- + -ive. Compare also inborn.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after native