kâfir

\kɑ.fiʁ\

/\kɑ.fiʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“kâfir” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nom donné aux non-croyants, voire aux musulmans hétérodoxes, dans la théologie islamique.

Corpus desk

Index FR-kafir · kâfir · French

kâfir · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for kâfir
PropertyValue
Headwordkâfir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɑ.fiʁ\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « kâfir » en français

kâfirn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kâfir is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \kɑ.fiʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Nom donné aux non-croyants, voire aux musulmans hétérodoxes, dans la théologie islamique.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for kâfir, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is kâfir, spelled K-Â-F-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom donné aux non-croyants, voire aux musulmans hétérodoxes, dans la théologie islamique.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Veillons à ne pas tomber dans le piège du kâfir, de celui qui la renie ou l’occulte. Aujourd’hui, dans le monde musulman, quand on dit de quelqu’un qu’il est un kâfir, c’est une façon de le stigmatiser au regard de la religion comme « mécréant » ou « infidèle ».
  2. Alors, écoute ce que nous avons à dire, frère ! l’interpella le prédicateur, en songeant avec quel aplomb le kâfir avait foncé sur lui et combien il avait l’air désespéré maintenant.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kâfir"?
"kâfir" is spelled K-Â-F-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \kɑ.fiʁ\.
What does "kâfir" mean?
As a noun, "kâfir" means: Nom donné aux non-croyants, voire aux musulmans hétérodoxes, dans la théologie islamique.
How do you pronounce "kâfir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kâfir" is \kɑ.fiʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "kâfir" come from?
"kâfir" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list