How to spell native

hear itna·tive/'neɪtɪv/adjectiveRules and real life

What it means: Naturally living or growing in a particular place.

In a sentence: The oak tree is native to this forest.

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as nativ or naive.

Same family: nation, national, innate, nativity, natural. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Native” comes from the Latin word *nativus*, meaning “innate” or “born,” from *nasci* “to be born.” It’s related to words like “nation,” “nature,” and “nativity,” all connected to the idea of birth or origin.

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