Altruismus

[altʁuˈɪsmʊs]

/[altʁuˈɪsmʊs]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Altruismus” is an uncommon German word, ranked #73,217 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#73,217
frequency rank, German
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Selbstlosigkeit, Menschenliebe, Uneigennützigkeit

Key facts for Altruismus
PropertyValue
HeadwordAltruismus
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[altʁuˈɪsmʊs]
Letters10
Frequency rank#73,217
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Altruismus” 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). Altruismus 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 Altruismus is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [altʁuˈɪsmʊs]. Corpus data places it at rank #73,217 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Selbstlosigkeit, Menschenliebe, Uneigennützigkeit".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Altruismus, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. 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.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Altruismus, spelled A-L-T-R-U-I-S-M-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Selbstlosigkeit, Menschenliebe, Uneigennützigkeit

Antonyms

Egoismus

This word in other languages

altruism(English)altruismo(Español)altruisme(Français)altruísmo(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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Altruismus"?
"Altruismus" is spelled A-L-T-R-U-I-S-M-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is [altʁuˈɪsmʊs].
What does "Altruismus" mean?
As a noun, "Altruismus" means: Selbstlosigkeit, Menschenliebe, Uneigennützigkeit
How do you pronounce "Altruismus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Altruismus" is [altʁuˈɪsmʊs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Altruismus" come from?
"Altruismus" 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 “Altruismus”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is A-L-T-R-U-I-S-M-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [altʁuˈɪsmʊs] (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list