affecter

\a.fɛk.te\

/\a.fɛk.te\/ verb

The verdict

“affecter” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #10,111 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#10,111
frequency rank, French
8
letters
10
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Destiner et appliquer une chose ou une personne à un certain usage.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

affecter vs affects
75% similar
affecter vs afficher
75% similar
affecter vs affectés
75% similar

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

Key facts for affecter
PropertyValue
Headwordaffecter
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\a.fɛk.te\
Letters8
Frequency rank#10,111
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “affecter” sits in French frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for affecter is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.fɛk.te\. Corpus data places it at rank #10,111 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for affecter, with forms such as "afecter", "afefcter", and "affceter". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "affects", "afficher", "affectés", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is affecter, spelled A-F-F-E-C-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Destiner et appliquer une chose ou une personne à un certain usage.
  2. 2
    Feindre ou exagérer certains sentiments, certaines qualités.
  3. 3
    Marquer une prédilection excessive pour certaines choses.
  4. 4
    Rechercher une chose avec ambition, y aspirer, s’y porter avec ardeur.
  5. 5
    Exprimer la disposition que certaines substances ont à prendre certaines figures.
  6. 6
    Faire sur quelque partie de l’organisme une impression qui l’altère.
  7. 7
    Faire sur l’âme une impression qui cause de la douleur, du chagrin, émouvoir, affliger.
  8. 8
    Modifier de quelque manière.
  9. 9
    Modifier une quantité en la dotant d’un signe, d’un coefficient.
  10. 10
    Donner une valeur à une variable.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afecter,afefcter,affceter,affeccter,affecetr,affecterr,affectre,affectter,affetcer,fafecter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of affecter - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

afecter1afefcter2affceter2affeccter1affecetr2affecterr1affectre2affectter1
Edit distance from "affecter"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "affecter"?
"affecter" is spelled A-F-F-E-C-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \a.fɛk.te\.
What does "affecter" mean?
As a verb, "affecter" means: Destiner et appliquer une chose ou une personne à un certain usage.
What words are commonly confused with "affecter"?
"affecter" is commonly confused with "affects", "afficher", "affectés". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "affecter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "affecter" is \a.fɛk.te\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "affecter" come from?
"affecter" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “affecter”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is A-F-F-E-C-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a.fɛk.te\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “affects” - see the side-by-side comparison. affecter vs affects
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list