airbag

[ɛʁbaɡ]

/[ɛʁbaɡ]/ noun

The verdict

“airbag” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #37,343 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#37,343
frequency rank, German
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Airbag, Prallkissen

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

airbag vs airbus
67% similar
airbag vs Airbags
71% similar

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

Key facts for airbag
PropertyValue
Headwordairbag
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɛʁbaɡ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#37,343
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “airbag” 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). airbag 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 airbag is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɛʁbaɡ]. Corpus data places it at rank #37,343 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for airbag, with forms such as "aibrag", "airabg", and "airbagg". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "airbus", "Airbags", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is airbag, spelled A-I-R-B-A-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Airbag, Prallkissen
  2. 2
    Busen, Brust, Vorbau

Synonyms

coussin gonflablesac gonflablesein

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aibrag,airabg,airbagg,airbbag,airbga,airrbag,aribag,iarbag

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aibrag2airabg2airbagg1airbbag1airbga2airrbag1aribag2iarbag2
Edit distance from "airbag"

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 "airbag"?
"airbag" is spelled A-I-R-B-A-G. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛʁbaɡ].
What does "airbag" mean?
As a noun, "airbag" means: Airbag, Prallkissen
What words are commonly confused with "airbag"?
"airbag" is commonly confused with "airbus", "Airbags". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "airbag"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "airbag" is [ɛʁbaɡ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "airbag" come from?
"airbag" 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.

Using “airbag”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is A-I-R-B-A-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ɛʁbaɡ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “airbus” - see the side-by-side comparison. airbag vs airbus
  • 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