Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell river

hear itriv·er/'rɪvər/nounSounds

What it means: A large stream of flowing water.

In a sentence: The ducks swim happily in the river.

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as rivier or rivver.

Same family: stream, creek, waterway, riverbank, riverbed. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: The word "river" comes from Old French "riviere," meaning a river or riverbank, which itself comes from Latin "riparia," related to "ripa," meaning bank or shore. This is why we also use the word "riparian" for things related to riverbanks.

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