alter ego

[ˈaltɛr ˈɛɡɔ]

/[ˈaltɛr ˈɛɡɔ]/ noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency German
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Person, die einem sehr nahe steht: Alter Ego

Key facts for alter ego
PropertyValue
Headwordalter ego
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈaltɛr ˈɛɡɔ]
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “alter ego” sits in German frequency

alter ego falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

alter ego is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈaltɛr ˈɛɡɔ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for alter ego, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is alter ego, spelled A-L-T-E-R- -E-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Person, die einem sehr nahe steht: Alter Ego
  2. 2
    Alter Ego

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 "alter ego"?
"alter ego" is spelled A-L-T-E-R- -E-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈaltɛr ˈɛɡɔ].
What does "alter ego" mean?
As a noun, "alter ego" means: Person, die einem sehr nahe steht: Alter Ego
How do you pronounce "alter ego"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alter ego" is [ˈaltɛr ˈɛɡɔ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "alter ego" come from?
"alter ego" 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.

Using “alter ego”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is A-L-T-E-R- -E-G-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈaltɛr ˈɛɡɔ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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