4

[fiːɐ̯]

/[fiːɐ̯]/ num

The verdict

“4” sits in 2 confusable pairs (corpus #150) as a numeral. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#150
frequency rank, German
1
letter
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - eine arabische Ziffer (ein Zahlzeichen), welche die Zahl Vier darstellt

Corpus desk

Index DE-4 · 4 · German

4 · rank #150 · 0 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #150
  • LEN-SHORT 1 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "4" thin
  • PHOTO-FINISH wurden

Nearest frequency peer: wurden (-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.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „4“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „4“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

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).

4 vs 4D
50% similar
4 vs vier
0% similar

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

Key facts for 4
PropertyValue
Headword4
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNumeral
IPA[fiːɐ̯]
Letters1
Frequency rank#150
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „4“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.4liegt auf dieser Marke:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „wurden“ (#149), „dabei“ (#151), „dieses“ (#148). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for 4 is neighbouring look-alikes ("4D", "vier"), not just typos; it is anumeral pronounced [fiːɐ̯]. Frequency #150. Gloss: "eine arabische Ziffer (ein Zahlzeichen), welche die Zahl Vier darstellt".

No generated misspelling entries exist for 4 in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "4D", "vier", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is 4, spelled 4.

Definition

  1. 1
    eine arabische Ziffer (ein Zahlzeichen), welche die Zahl Vier darstellt

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how 4 appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Hier ist die Hausnummer 4.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "4"?
"4" is spelled 4. The IPA pronunciation is [fiːɐ̯].
What does "4" mean?
As a numeral, "4" means: eine arabische Ziffer (ein Zahlzeichen), welche die Zahl Vier darstellt
What words are commonly confused with "4"?
"4" is commonly confused with "4D", "vier". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "4"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "4" is [fiːɐ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "4" come from?
"4" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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