AIDS

[ɛɪ̯t͡s]

/[ɛɪ̯t͡s]/ abbrev

The verdict

“AIDS” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #8,324 in German word frequency and used as an abbreviation.

#8,324
frequency rank, German
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - aus einer Infektion mit dem HI-Virus resultierende Summe von Erkrankungen (sogenannte "AIDS definierende Erkrankungen"), die als "AIDS Vollbild" (umgangssprachlich kurz: AIDS) zusammengefasst werden

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

AIDS vs as
0% similar
AIDS vs als
0% similar
AIDS vs aus
0% similar

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

Key facts for AIDS
PropertyValue
HeadwordAIDS
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAbbreviation
IPA[ɛɪ̯t͡s]
Letters4
Frequency rank#8,324
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “AIDS” sits in German 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). AIDS 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 German entry for AIDS is 4 letters long, classified as an abbreviation, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɛɪ̯t͡s]. Corpus data places it at rank #8,324 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "aus einer Infektion mit dem HI-Virus resultierende Summe von Erkrankungen (sogenannte "AIDS definierende Erkrankungen"), die als "AIDS Vollbild" (umgangssprachlich kurz: AIDS) zusammengefasst werden".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for AIDS, with forms such as "adis", "aidds", and "aidss". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "as", "als", "aus", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored 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 German form is AIDS, spelled A-I-D-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    aus einer Infektion mit dem HI-Virus resultierende Summe von Erkrankungen (sogenannte "AIDS definierende Erkrankungen"), die als "AIDS Vollbild" (umgangssprachlich kurz: AIDS) zusammengefasst werden

Synonyms

erworbenes Immundefektsyndrom

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: adis,aidds,aidss,aisd,iads

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of AIDS - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

adis2aidds1aidss1aisd2iads2
Edit distance from "AIDS"

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 "AIDS"?
"AIDS" is spelled A-I-D-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɪ̯t͡s].
What does "AIDS" mean?
As an abbreviation, "AIDS" means: aus einer Infektion mit dem HI-Virus resultierende Summe von Erkrankungen (sogenannte "AIDS definierende Erkrankungen"), die als "AIDS Vollbild" (umgangssprachlich kurz: AIDS) zusammengefasst werden
What words are commonly confused with "AIDS"?
"AIDS" is commonly confused with "as", "als", "aus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "AIDS"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "AIDS" is [ɛɪ̯t͡s]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "AIDS" come from?
"AIDS" is a German 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 “AIDS”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is A-I-D-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ɛɪ̯t͡s] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “as” - see the side-by-side comparison. AIDS vs as
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German 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