Abc

[ˌaːˌbeːˈt͡seː]

/[ˌaːˌbeːˈt͡seː]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Abc” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #10,406) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#10,406
frequency rank, German
6,976
“A” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - alphabetische Ordnung der Buchstaben, das aus lateinischen Buchstaben bestehende Alphabet

Corpus desk

Index DE-abc · Abc · German

Abc · rank #10,406 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,406
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,976
  • PHOTO-FINISH abbrechen

Nearest frequency peer: abbrechen (-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 “Abc”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Abc” sits against the nearest ranked German 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).

Abc vs an
0% similar
Abc vs am
0% similar
Abc vs AG
33% similar

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

Key facts for Abc
PropertyValue
HeadwordAbc
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˌaːˌbeːˈt͡seː]
Letters3
Frequency rank#10,406
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Abc” sits in German frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Abc lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Abc is neighbouring look-alikes ("an", "am", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [ˌaːˌbeːˈt͡seː]. Frequency #10,406 among 6,976 “A” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for Abc in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "an", "am", "AG", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

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 German form is Abc, spelled A-B-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    alphabetische Ordnung der Buchstaben, das aus lateinischen Buchstaben bestehende Alphabet
  2. 2
    die Grundlagen, das Grundwissen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Wer das Abc nicht beherrscht, sollte die Finger vom Wiktionary lassen.
  2. „Der alte Fürst war anscheinend fest überzeugt, dass alle führenden Männer dumme Jungen waren, die nicht einmal das Abc der Kriegs- und Staatskunst kannten, und dass Bonaparte ein kümmerliches kleines Französchen war und seine Erfolge nur dem Umstand verdankte, dass man ihm keinen Potemkin und Suworow mehr entgegenstellen konnte.“

Synonyms

AbeceAlphabetBasicsGrundlagenGrundwissenSchlüsselwissenWurzelnAnfangsgründeEinmaleins

This word in other languages

ABC(English)abecé(Español)abc(Français)abc(Português)

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.

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 "Abc"?
"Abc" is spelled A-B-C. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌaːˌbeːˈt͡seː].
What does "Abc" mean?
As a noun, "Abc" means: alphabetische Ordnung der Buchstaben, das aus lateinischen Buchstaben bestehende Alphabet
What words are commonly confused with "Abc"?
"Abc" is commonly confused with "an", "am", "AG". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Abc"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Abc" is [ˌaːˌbeːˈt͡seː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Abc" come from?
"Abc" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 German words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

USD#10,384com#10,445Dur#10,455quo#10,345

What to do next

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

  • "Abc" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "an". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #10,406 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German 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