avoir

\a.vwaʁ\

/\a.vwaʁ\/ verb

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

The verdict

“avoir” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #81 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#81
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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.

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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for avoir is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.vwaʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #81 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 7 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 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.

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.

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.

Using “avoir”

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

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