Afrikaner

/ˌæfɹɪˈkɑːnɚ/

//ˌæfɹɪˈkɑːnɚ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“Afrikaner” is uncommon English (frequency #54,602 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,602
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of an ethnic group of northwestern European ancestry and associated with southern Africa and the Afrikaans language.

Corpus desk

Index EN-afrikaner · Afrikaner · English

Afrikaner · rank #54,602 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,602
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH adornment

Nearest frequency peer: adornment (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “Afrikaner”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Afrikaner” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Afrikaner
PropertyValue
HeadwordAfrikaner
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌæfɹɪˈkɑːnɚ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#54,602
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Afrikaner” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Afrikanerfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “adornment” (#54,600), “aii” (#54,604), “adjudicate” (#54,599). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “Afrikaner” is #54,602. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Afrikaner is uncommon English at frequency #54,602 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌæfɹɪˈkɑːnɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Afrikaner, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Afrikaans Afrikaner. The correct English form is Afrikaner, spelled A-F-R-I-K-A-N-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of an ethnic group of northwestern European ancestry and associated with southern Africa and the Afrikaans language.
  2. 2
    A breed of cattle; Afrikander.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. “Despite the Administration’s actions, CWS remains committed to serving all eligible refugee populations seeking safety in the United States, including Afrikaners who are eligible for services,” he said. “Our faith compels us to serve each person in our care with dignity and compassion.”
  2. In February, Trump suspended aid to South Africa, alleging discrimination against White farmers. In that same executive order, the president said the US would “promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.”

Etymology

Borrowed from Afrikaans Afrikaner.

This word in other languages

afrikáner(Español)Afrikaner(Français)Afrikaander(Deutsch)africânder(Português)

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 "Afrikaner"?
"Afrikaner" is spelled A-F-R-I-K-A-N-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæfɹɪˈkɑːnɚ/.
What does "Afrikaner" mean?
As a noun, "Afrikaner" means: A member of an ethnic group of northwestern European ancestry and associated with southern Africa and the Afrikaans language.
How do you pronounce "Afrikaner"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Afrikaner" is /ˌæfɹɪˈkɑːnɚ/. 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 "Afrikaner"?
Borrowed from Afrikaans Afrikaner. 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 "Afrikaner", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

adornment#54,600alleyways#54,605Anatolian#54,613antenatal#54,617

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list