neighbour

/ˈneɪbə/

//ˈneɪbə// noun

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

"neighbour" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“neighbour” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,430. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,430
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person living on adjacent or nearby land; a person situated adjacently or nearby; anything (of the same type of thing as the subject) in an adjacent or nearby position.

Corpus desk

Index EN-neighbour · neighbour · English

neighbour · rank #11,430 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,430
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH negatively

Nearest frequency peer: negatively (-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 “neighbour”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “neighbour” 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).

neighbour vs neighbor
89% similar
neighbour vs Neighbors
67% similar

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

Key facts for neighbour
PropertyValue
Headwordneighbour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈneɪbə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#11,430
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “neighbour”

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).neighbourlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “negatively” (#11,429), “Nissan” (#11,431), “mustard” (#11,428). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “neighbour” is #11,430. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around neighbour (IPA /ˈneɪbə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,430 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for neighbour, with forms such as "enighbour", "negihbour", and "neigbhour". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "neighbor", "Neighbors", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English neyghebour, neighebor, neighbour, neihebur, from Old English nēahġebūr (“neighbour”), from Proto-West Germanic *nāhwagabūrō, from Proto-Germanic *nēhwagabūrô (“neighbour”, literally “near-dweller”), equivalent to nigh (“near”) + bower (“… The correct English form is neighbour, spelled N-E-I-G-H-B-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person living on adjacent or nearby land; a person situated adjacently or nearby; anything (of the same type of thing as the subject) in an adjacent or nearby position.
  2. 2
    One who is near in sympathy or confidence.
  3. 3
    A fellow human being.
  4. 4
    Anything located directly adjacent to something else.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. My neighbour has two noisy cats.
  2. They′re our neighbours across the street.

Etymology

From Middle English neyghebour, neighebor, neighbour, neihebur, from Old English nēahġebūr (“neighbour”), from Proto-West Germanic *nāhwagabūrō, from Proto-Germanic *nēhwagabūrô (“neighbour”, literally “near-dweller”), equivalent to nigh (“near”) + bower (“farmer”). Cognate with Scots nichbour (“neighbour”), Saterland Frisian Noaber (“neighbour”), Dutch nabuur (“neighbour”), German Low German Naber (“neighbour”), German Nachbar (“neighbour”), Danish nabo (“neighbour”), Norwegian nabo (“neighbour”), Icelandic nábúi (“neighbour”), Finnish naapuri (“neighbour”), Estonian naaber (“neighbour”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English prome (“neighbour”), borrowed from Old French proeme, proime, proisme (“neighbour”) (<< Latin proximus (“nearest, next”).

Synonyms

bydwellerfellow human beingfellowfellow man

Antonyms

strangerforeigner

This word in other languages

vecino(Español)voisin(Français)Nachbar(Deutsch)vizinho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • enighbour
  • negihbour
  • neigbhour
  • neigghbour
  • neighbbour
  • neighboru
  • neighbourr
  • neighbuor
  • neighhbour
  • neighobur
  • neihgbour
  • nieghbour
  • nneighbour

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of neighbour - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

enighbour2negihbour2neigbhour2neigghbour1neighbbour1neighboru2neighbourr1neighbuor2
Edit distance from "neighbour"

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 "neighbour"?
"neighbour" is spelled N-E-I-G-H-B-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈneɪbə/.
What does "neighbour" mean?
As a noun, "neighbour" means: A person living on adjacent or nearby land; a person situated adjacently or nearby; anything (of the same type of thing as the subject) in an adjacent or nearby position.
What words are commonly confused with "neighbour"?
"neighbour" is commonly confused with "neighbor", "Neighbors". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "neighbour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "neighbour" is /ˈneɪbə/. 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 "neighbour"?
From Middle English neyghebour, neighebor, neighbour, neihebur, from Old English nēahġebūr (“neighbour”), from Proto-West Germanic *nāhwagabūrō, from Proto-Germanic *nēhwagabūrô (“neighbour”, literally “near-dweller”), equivalent to nigh (“near”) ... 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 "neighbour", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Patterson#11,435monuments#11,424preaching#11,442MacDonald#11,413

Similar misspelling depth

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

Plymouth13 variantsMidlands13 variantslipstick13 variantsliberties13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list