Afrikaans

/ˌafɹɪˈkɑːnz/

//ˌafɹɪˈkɑːnz// name

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

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

The verdict

“Afrikaans” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,421. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,421
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Germanic language descending from Dutch; the primary language of the descendants of Dutch and other European settlers, as well as many mixed-race (e.g. Rehoboth Basters) living in South Africa an...

Corpus desk

Index EN-afrikaans · Afrikaans · English

Afrikaans · rank #36,421 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,421
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH agate

Nearest frequency peer: agate (+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 “Afrikaans”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Afrikaans” 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
Key facts for Afrikaans
PropertyValue
HeadwordAfrikaans
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˌafɹɪˈkɑːnz/
Letters9
Frequency rank#36,421
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Afrikaans”

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).Afrikaanslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “agate” (#36,422), “Adrien” (#36,419), “airstrip” (#36,423). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “Afrikaans” is #36,421. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around Afrikaans (IPA /ˌafɹɪˈkɑːnz/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #36,421 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A Germanic language descending from Dutch; the primary language of the descendants of Dutch and other European settlers, as well as many mixed-race (e.g. Rehoboth Basters) living in South Africa an...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Afrikaans, with forms such as "affrikaans", "afirkaans", and "afriakans". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Afrikaans Afrikaans (“African”) itself from earlier Dutch Afrikaansch (“African”). The correct English form is Afrikaans, spelled A-F-R-I-K-A-A-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Germanic language descending from Dutch; the primary language of the descendants of Dutch and other European settlers, as well as many mixed-race (e.g. Rehoboth Basters) living in South Africa and in Namibia. Also, one of the eleven official languages of South Africa and until 1990 one of three official languages of Namibia.

Etymology

Borrowed from Afrikaans Afrikaans (“African”) itself from earlier Dutch Afrikaansch (“African”).

This word in other languages

afrikáans(Español)afrikaans(Français)Afrikaans(Deutsch)africâner(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • affrikaans
  • afirkaans
  • afriakans
  • afrikaanns
  • afrikaanss
  • afrikaasn
  • afrikanas
  • afrikans
  • afrikkaans
  • afrkiaans
  • afrrikaans
  • arfikaans
  • farikaans

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

affrikaans1afirkaans2afriakans2afrikaanns1afrikaanss1afrikaasn2afrikanas2afrikans1
Edit distance from "Afrikaans"

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 "Afrikaans"?
"Afrikaans" is spelled A-F-R-I-K-A-A-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌafɹɪˈkɑːnz/.
What does "Afrikaans" mean?
As a proper noun, "Afrikaans" means: A Germanic language descending from Dutch; the primary language of the descendants of Dutch and other European settlers, as well as many mixed-race (e.g. Rehoboth Basters) living in South Africa an...
What are common misspellings of "Afrikaans"?
Common misspellings include "affrikaans", "afirkaans", "afriakans", "afrikaanns", "afrikaanss". The correct spelling is "Afrikaans".
How do you pronounce "Afrikaans"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Afrikaans" is /ˌafɹɪˈkɑːnz/. 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 "Afrikaans"?
Borrowed from Afrikaans Afrikaans (“African”) itself from earlier Dutch Afrikaansch (“African”). 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 "Afrikaans", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

acrobatic#36,416absorbent#36,414arbitrage#36,432withering#36,398

Similar misspelling depth

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

Whiteside13 variantsunassuming13 variantsBrinkley13 variantsTakahashi13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list