bilingual

[ˈbiːlɪŋˌɡu̯aːl]

/[ˈbiːlɪŋˌɡu̯aːl]/ adj

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

The verdict

“bilingual” is uncommon German (frequency #87,500 among 72,680 “B” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,500
frequency rank, German
72,680
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - zwei Sprachen betreffend

Key facts for bilingual
PropertyValue
Headwordbilingual
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈbiːlɪŋˌɡu̯aːl]
Letters9
Frequency rank#87,500
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bilingual” 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). bilingual lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bilingual is uncommon German at frequency #87,500 among 72,680 “B” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈbiːlɪŋˌɡu̯aːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "zwei Sprachen betreffend".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for bilingual, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is bilingual, spelled B-I-L-I-N-G-U-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    zwei Sprachen betreffend

Synonyms

zweisprachig

Antonyms

monolingualtrilingualmultilingual

This word in other languages

bilingual(English)bilingüe(Español)bilingue(Français)

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 "bilingual"?
"bilingual" is spelled B-I-L-I-N-G-U-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈbiːlɪŋˌɡu̯aːl].
What does "bilingual" mean?
As an adjective, "bilingual" means: zwei Sprachen betreffend
How do you pronounce "bilingual"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bilingual" is [ˈbiːlɪŋˌɡu̯aːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bilingual" come from?
"bilingual" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “bilingual”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is B-I-L-I-N-G-U-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈbiːlɪŋˌɡu̯aːl] (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

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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