backen

[ˈbakn̩]

/[ˈbakn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“backen” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #6,274. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,274
frequency rank, German
5,818
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - im Ofen erhitzen

Corpus desk

Index DE-backen · backen · German

backen · rank #6,274 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,274
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,818
  • PHOTO-FINISH ausgenommen

Nearest frequency peer: ausgenommen (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “backen”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “backen” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

backen vs Baden
50% similar
backen vs bauen
67% similar
backen vs Bären
33% similar

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

Key facts for backen
PropertyValue
Headwordbacken
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈbakn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#6,274
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “backen” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.backenliegt hier:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „ausgenommen“ (#6,273), „Bass“ (#6,275), „ausdrücken“ (#6,272). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around backen (IPA [ˈbakn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,274 among 5,818 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for backen, with forms such as "abcken", "baccken", and "bacekn". 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, "Baden", "bauen", "Bären", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, 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 backen, spelled B-A-C-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    im Ofen erhitzen
  2. 2
    im Ofen erhitzt werden
  3. 3
    durch Ofenhitze trocken und haltbar machen; dörren
  4. 4
    in der Pfanne in Fett braten
  5. 5
    entstehen, werden, schaffen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ich backe gerade Brot.
  2. „Mutter bäckt Plätzchen und Kuchen.“

Synonyms

braten

This word in other languages

bake(English)cocer(Español)assar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abcken
  • baccken
  • bacekn
  • backenn
  • backken
  • backne
  • bakcen
  • bbacken
  • bcaken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of backen - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

abcken2baccken1bacekn2backenn1backken1backne2bakcen2bbacken1
Edit distance from "backen"

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 "backen"?
"backen" is spelled B-A-C-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈbakn̩].
What does "backen" mean?
As a verb, "backen" means: im Ofen erhitzen
What words are commonly confused with "backen"?
"backen" is commonly confused with "Baden", "bauen", "Bären". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "backen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "backen" is [ˈbakn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "backen" come from?
"backen" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "backen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bitter#6,281trinkt#6,245Tricks#6,244Tablet#6,238

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

illegale9 variantslehren9 variantsOstern9 variantsMünzen9 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "backen". Here's where to go from here.

  • "backen" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Baden". View pair
  • 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #6,274 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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