Autobahn

[ˈaʊ̯toˌbaːn]

/[ˈaʊ̯toˌbaːn]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Autobahn” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #3,021. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,021
frequency rank, German
6,976
“A” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - kreuzungsfrei gebaute, richtungsgetrennte Schnellstraße mit mindestens zwei Fahrspuren je Fahrtrichtung

Corpus desk

Index DE-autobahn · Autobahn · German

Autobahn · rank #3,021 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,021
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,976
  • PHOTO-FINISH ausdrücklich

Nearest frequency peer: ausdrücklich (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Autobahn“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Autobahn“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

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).

Autobahn vs Autobahnen
80% similar

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

Key facts for Autobahn
PropertyValue
HeadwordAutobahn
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈaʊ̯toˌbaːn]
Letters8
Frequency rank#3,021
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Autobahn“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Autobahnliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „ausdrücklich“ (#3,020), „Bauer“ (#3,022), „angegeben“ (#3,019). Unter 6,976 „A“-Lemmata liegt „Autobahn“ bei #3,021. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Autobahn (IPA [ˈaʊ̯toˌbaːn]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,021 among 6,976 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "kreuzungsfrei gebaute, richtungsgetrennte Schnellstraße mit mindestens zwei Fahrspuren je Fahrtrichtung".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Autobahn, with forms such as "atuobahn", "auotbahn", and "autboahn". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Autobahnen", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Autobahn, spelled A-U-T-O-B-A-H-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    kreuzungsfrei gebaute, richtungsgetrennte Schnellstraße mit mindestens zwei Fahrspuren je Fahrtrichtung

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Die A 45 ist eine Autobahn von Norden nach Süden.
  2. Nehmen Sie die Autobahn bis Freiburg.

Synonyms

Bundesautobahn

Antonyms

BundesstraßeLandesstraßeLandstraßeStaatsstraßeKreisstraßeGemeindestraßeKraftfahrstraße

This word in other languages

motorway(English)autopista(Español)autoroute(Français)estrada(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atuobahn
  • auotbahn
  • autboahn
  • autoabhn
  • autobahhn
  • autobahnn
  • autobanh
  • autobbahn
  • autobhan
  • auttobahn
  • uatobahn

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Autobahn - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

atuobahn2auotbahn2autboahn2autoabhn2autobahhn1autobahnn1autobanh2autobbahn1
Edit distance from "Autobahn"

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 "Autobahn"?
"Autobahn" is spelled A-U-T-O-B-A-H-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈaʊ̯toˌbaːn].
What does "Autobahn" mean?
As a noun, "Autobahn" means: kreuzungsfrei gebaute, richtungsgetrennte Schnellstraße mit mindestens zwei Fahrspuren je Fahrtrichtung
What words are commonly confused with "Autobahn"?
"Autobahn" is commonly confused with "Autobahnen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Autobahn"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Autobahn" is [ˈaʊ̯toˌbaːn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Autobahn" come from?
"Autobahn" 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 "Autobahn", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

besseres#3,025Anbieter#3,016Aktionen#3,015vorgehen#3,006

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

bemerkt11 variantswodurch11 variantsfremden11 variantsverfügt11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list