fakir

/fəˈkiɹ/

//fəˈkiɹ// noun

"fakir" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fakir” is uncommon English (frequency #77,665 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,665
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A faqir, owning no personal property and usually living solely off alms.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fakir · fakir · English

fakir · rank #77,665 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,665
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fakery

Nearest frequency peer: fakery (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “fakir”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for fakir
PropertyValue
Headwordfakir
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fəˈkiɹ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#77,665
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fakir” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).fakirfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “fakery” (#77,664), “Fabienne” (#77,663), “fanatically” (#77,667). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fakir” is #77,665. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fakir is uncommon English at frequency #77,665 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /fəˈkiɹ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for fakir, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Arabic فَقِير (faqīr, “poor man”). The correct English form is fakir, spelled F-A-K-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A faqir, owning no personal property and usually living solely off alms.
  2. 2
    An ascetic mendicant, especially one who performs feats of endurance or apparent magic.
  3. 3
    Someone who takes advantage of the gullible through fakery, especially of a spiritual or religious nature.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The preposterous altruism too![…]Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.
  2. He denounces no one until he has all the damaging facts in hand, very frequently backed up with affidavits. He 'Lawsonized' certain stock jobbers and financial fakirs of London before the Boston advertising man was heard of.

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فَقِير (faqīr, “poor man”).

This word in other languages

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 "fakir"?
"fakir" is spelled F-A-K-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is /fəˈkiɹ/.
What does "fakir" mean?
As a noun, "fakir" means: A faqir, owning no personal property and usually living solely off alms.
How do you pronounce "fakir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fakir" is /fəˈkiɹ/. 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 "fakir"?
Borrowed from Arabic فَقِير (faqīr, “poor man”). 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 "fakir", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list