after
af·ter/ˈæftəɹ/adverb, preposition, conjunction, adjective, noun
after is spelled A-F-T-E-R, 2 syllables: af·ter. The wrong spelling people search most is afrer: about 20 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 294 of all searches for the word. After is an adverb meaning “Behind; later in time; following”.
How many letters and syllables are in after?
| Letters | 5: A-F-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: af·ter |
| In writing | 1,288 times per million words; the 83rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, afrer, about 20 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell after?
After is spelled A-F-T-E-R. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 297 of the searches for after in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is after?
After appears 1,288 times per million words in written English, the 83rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce after?
- UK /ˈɑːftə/
- /ˈaftə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈæftəɹ/
After has 2 syllables, split af·ter in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-after.wav, En-us-after.ogg, Pacific-Northwest-After.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with after?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as after from its last stressed vowel (/æftəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: frate.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of after
- afters plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does after mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Behind; later in time; following.
I left the room, and the dog bounded after.
preposition
- 1
Subsequently to; following in time; later than.
We had a few beers after the game.
- 2
Subsequently to and as a result of.
Sucess comes after hard work.
- 3
Subsequently to and considering.
I’m not putting you in charge again after the last disaster.
- 4
Subsequently to and in spite of.
After all that has happened, he is still my friend.
- 5
Subsequently to the actions of (someone), in order to remedy a situation.
I'm tired of picking up after you. Why can't you clean your own messes?
- 6
Repeatedly, seemingly in a sequence without end.
day after day, time after time, mile after mile, beer after beer, smile after smile
- 7
IrelandUsed to indicate recent completion of an activity.
I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door. [= I had just finished my dinner when ...]
- 8
Behind.
He will leave a trail of destruction after him.
conjunction
- 1
Signifies that the action of the clause it starts takes place before the action of the other clause.
The show ends after the fat lady sings.
adjective
- 1
datedLater; second (of two); next, following, subsequent
- 2
At or towards the stern of a ship or the rear of an aircraft.
The after gun is mounted aft.
noun
- 1
Of before-and-after images: the one that shows the difference after a specified treatment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
After in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | après , derrière , d'après , à cause de , après que |
| German | hinterher, darauf , hinter , wegen , nachdem , nach |
| Portuguese | depois , atrás de , por, segundo , depois de |
| Spanish | después, luego , detrás de , después de, tras, en pos de |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does after come from?
From Middle English after, from Old English æfter, from Proto-West Germanic *aftar, from Proto-Germanic *after, *aftiri, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epoteros (“further behind, further away”), from *h₂epo (“off, away”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).