avoir

\a.vwaʁ\

/\a.vwaʁ\/ verb

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

The verdict

“avoir” has 6 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #81. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#81
frequency rank, French
6,727
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Être en relation possessive, soit concrète ou abstraite, soit permanente ou occasionnelle, dont le possesseur est le sujet et le possédé est le complément d’objet direct.

Corpus desk

Index FR-avoir · avoir · French

avoir · rank #81 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #81
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,727
  • PHOTO-FINISH sans

Nearest frequency peer: sans (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “avoir”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “avoir” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

avoir vs avon
60% similar
avoir vs avons
60% similar
avoir vs avril
60% similar

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

Key facts for avoir
PropertyValue
Headwordavoir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\a.vwaʁ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#81
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “avoir” 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). avoir lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around avoir (IPA \a.vwaʁ\), averb. Corpus frequency is #81 among 6,727 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for avoir, with forms such as "aovir", "avior", and "avoirr". 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, "avon", "avons", "avril", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is avoir, spelled A-V-O-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Être en relation possessive, soit concrète ou abstraite, soit permanente ou occasionnelle, dont le possesseur est le sujet et le possédé est le complément d’objet direct.
  2. 2
    Être dans un certain état, anormal.
  3. 3
    Se procurer, obtenir quelque chose.
  4. 4
    Tromper, berner, leurrer quelqu’un.
  5. 5
    Posséder sexuellement une femme.
  6. 6
    Introduit une nouvelle information concernant le locuteur sans relation thème-rhème.
  7. 7
    Auxiliaire servant à former les temps composés, signifiant le passé, la complétion ou l’expérience.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Et les cédilles, ça ressemblait à rien ces zigouigouis, quant au verbe avoir qui s’accordait tantôt avec le complément d’objet direct tantôt pas, c’était un cauchemar.
  2. Pierre a deux filles. Cadet Rouselle a trois maisons.

Synonyms

posséder

This word in other languages

have(English)tener(Español)haben(Deutsch)ter(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aovir
  • avior
  • avoirr
  • avori
  • avvoir
  • vaoir

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aovir2avior2avoirr1avori2avvoir1vaoir2
Edit distance from "avoir"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "avoir"?
"avoir" is spelled A-V-O-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \a.vwaʁ\.
What does "avoir" mean?
As a verb, "avoir" means: Être en relation possessive, soit concrète ou abstraite, soit permanente ou occasionnelle, dont le possesseur est le sujet et le possédé est le complément d’objet direct.
What words are commonly confused with "avoir"?
"avoir" is commonly confused with "avon", "avons", "avril". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "avoir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "avoir" is \a.vwaʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "avoir" come from?
"avoir" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "avoir", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

alors#86après#76avait#87quand#75

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

sans6 variantsentre6 variantsautre6 variantsfaire6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "avoir". Here's where to go from here.

  • "avoir" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "avon". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #81 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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