counterfeit
/ˈkaʊn.tɚˌfɪt/
"counterfeit" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“counterfeit” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,335 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #17,335
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - False, especially of money; intended to deceive or carry appearance of being genuine.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | counterfeit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkaʊn.tɚˌfɪt/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #17,335 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “counterfeit” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for counterfeit is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkaʊn.tɚˌfɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,335 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for counterfeit, with forms such as "ccounterfeit", "conuterfeit", and "counetrfeit". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English counterfeit, countrefet, from Anglo-Norman countrefait, from Old French contrefait, from Latin contra- (“against”) + Latin facere (“to make”). Piecewise doublet of contrafactum. The correct English form is counterfeit, spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-F-E-I-T.
Definition
- 1False, especially of money; intended to deceive or carry appearance of being genuine.
- 2Inauthentic.
- 3Assuming the appearance of something; deceitful; hypocritical.
Etymology
From Middle English counterfeit, countrefet, from Anglo-Norman countrefait, from Old French contrefait, from Latin contra- (“against”) + Latin facere (“to make”). Piecewise doublet of contrafactum.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccounterfeit,conuterfeit,counetrfeit,counnterfeit,countefreit,counterefit,counterfeitt,counterfeti,counterffeit,counterfiet,counterrfeit,countrefeit,countterfeit,coutnerfeit,cuonterfeit,ocunterfeit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of counterfeit - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "counterfeit"?
What does "counterfeit" mean?
What are common misspellings of "counterfeit"?
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Using “counterfeit”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-U-N-T-E-R-F-E-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkaʊn.tɚˌfɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.