avais

\a.vɛ\

/\a.vɛ\/ verb

The verdict

“avais” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #232 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#232
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de avoir.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

avais vs avi
60% similar
avais vs AVS
0% similar
avais vs avis
80% similar

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

Key facts for avais
PropertyValue
Headwordavais
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\a.vɛ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#232
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “avais” 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). avais 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 avais is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.vɛ\. Corpus data places it at rank #232 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for avais, with forms such as "aavis", "avaiss", and "avasi". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "avi", "AVS", "avis", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is avais, spelled A-V-A-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de avoir.
  2. 2
    Deuxième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de avoir.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aavis,avaiss,avasi,avias,avvais,vaais

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of avais - 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.

aavis2avaiss1avasi2avias2avvais1vaais2
Edit distance from "avais"

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 "avais"?
"avais" is spelled A-V-A-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is \a.vɛ\.
What does "avais" mean?
As a verb, "avais" means: Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de avoir.
What words are commonly confused with "avais"?
"avais" is commonly confused with "avi", "AVS", "avis". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "avais"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "avais" is \a.vɛ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "avais" come from?
"avais" 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 “avais”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is A-V-A-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a.vɛ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “avi” - see the side-by-side comparison. avais vs avi
  • 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