familiar

/fəˈmɪl.i.ə/

//fəˈmɪl.i.ə// adj

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

"familiar" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“familiar” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,442. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,442
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Known to one, or generally known; commonplace.

Corpus desk

Index EN-familiar · familiar · English

familiar · rank #2,442 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,442
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fail

Nearest frequency peer: fail (-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 “familiar”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “familiar” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

familiar vs familia
88% similar
familiar vs familial
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for familiar
PropertyValue
Headwordfamiliar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/fəˈmɪl.i.ə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,442
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “familiar”

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).familiarlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “fail” (#2,441), “finds” (#2,443), “essential” (#2,440). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “familiar” is #2,442. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around familiar (IPA /fəˈmɪl.i.ə/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,442 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for familiar, with forms such as "afmiliar", "faimliar", and "famiilar". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "familia", "familial", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English familiar, familier, from Latin familiāris (“pertaining to servants; pertaining to the household”). By surface analysis, family + -ar. Piecewise doublet of familial. Displaced native Old English hīwcūþ. The correct English form is familiar, spelled F-A-M-I-L-I-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Known to one, or generally known; commonplace.
  2. 2
    Acquainted.
  3. 3
    Intimate or friendly.
  4. 4
    Of or pertaining to a family; familial.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There’s a familiar face; that tune sounds familiar.
  2. The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.

Etymology

From Middle English familiar, familier, from Latin familiāris (“pertaining to servants; pertaining to the household”). By surface analysis, family + -ar. Piecewise doublet of familial. Displaced native Old English hīwcūþ.

Synonyms

acquaintedclosefriendlyintimatepersonalcheekyfreshimpudentaccustomedfamiliarhabitualknownpredictableroutinewontedwontish

Antonyms

ignorantunfamiliarunknownunacquaintedcoldcooldistantimpersonalstandoffishunfriendlystrangeunaccustomedunpredictableunwonted

This word in other languages

familiar(Español)familier(Français)bekannt(Deutsch)familiar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afmiliar
  • faimliar
  • famiilar
  • familair
  • familiarr
  • familira
  • familliar
  • famliiar
  • fammiliar
  • ffamiliar
  • fmailiar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

afmiliar2faimliar2famiilar2familair2familiarr1familira2familliar1famliiar2
Edit distance from "familiar"

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 "familiar"?
"familiar" is spelled F-A-M-I-L-I-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /fəˈmɪl.i.ə/.
What does "familiar" mean?
As an adjective, "familiar" means: Known to one, or generally known; commonplace.
What words are commonly confused with "familiar"?
"familiar" is commonly confused with "familia", "familial". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "familiar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "familiar" is /fəˈmɪl.i.ə/. 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 "familiar"?
From Middle English familiar, familier, from Latin familiāris (“pertaining to servants; pertaining to the household”). By surface analysis, family + -ar. Piecewise doublet of familial. Displaced native Old English hīwcūþ. 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 "familiar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hundreds#2,447improved#2,449customer#2,434laughing#2,452

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

essential11 variantsgranted11 variantslargely11 variantsmarkets11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list