C

Name: C, German Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[t͡seː]

/[t͡seː]/ character

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“C” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #343 in German word frequency and used as a character.

#343
frequency rank, German: 1
letter: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - dritter (mit Umlauten vierter) Buchstabe des deutschen Alphabets; ein Mitlaut

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

C vs cm

0% similar

C vs CD

50% similar

C vs Ch

50% similar

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

Key facts for C
Property	Value
Headword	C
Language	German
Part of speech	Character
IPA	[t͡seː]
Letters	1
Frequency rank	#343
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “C” 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). C lands here:

#343

#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 C is 1 letters long, classified as a character, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [t͡seː]. Corpus data places it at rank #343 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for C, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cm", "CD", "Ch", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is C, spelled C.

Definition

1
dritter (mit Umlauten vierter) Buchstabe des deutschen Alphabets; ein Mitlaut
2
Tonbezeichnung
3
prozedurale Programmiersprache, entwickelt von Dennis Ritchie Anfang der 1970er Jahre

Synonyms

c kleines

This word in other languages

C(English)do(Español)ut(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 "C"?

"C" is spelled C. The IPA pronunciation is [t͡seː].

What does "C" mean?

As a character, "C" means: dritter (mit Umlauten vierter) Buchstabe des deutschen Alphabets; ein Mitlaut

What words are commonly confused with "C"?

"C" is commonly confused with "cm", "CD", "Ch". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "C"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "C" is [t͡seː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "C" come from?

"C" 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 “C”

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

The one correct German spelling is C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as [t͡seː] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “cm” - see the side-by-side comparison. C vs cm
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.