dan

[ˈdaːn]

/[ˈdaːn]/ noun

The verdict

“dan” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #4,415) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#4,415
frequency rank, German
2,764
“D” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Zeitraum zwischen Sonnenaufgang und Sonnenuntergang; Tag

Corpus desk

Index DE-dan · dan · German

dan · rank #4,415 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,415
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,764
  • PHOTO-FINISH Büchern

Nearest frequency peer: Büchern (-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 “dan”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “dan” 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).

dan vs du
33% similar
dan vs de
33% similar
dan vs do
33% similar

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

Key facts for dan
PropertyValue
Headworddan
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈdaːn]
Letters3
Frequency rank#4,415
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “dan” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

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

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „Büchern“ (#4,414), „dicken“ (#4,416), „Börse“ (#4,413). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for dan is neighbouring look-alikes ("du", "de", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [ˈdaːn]. Frequency #4,415 among 2,764 “D” headwords. Gloss: "Zeitraum zwischen Sonnenaufgang und Sonnenuntergang; Tag".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for dan, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "du", "de", "do", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is dan, spelled D-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Zeitraum zwischen Sonnenaufgang und Sonnenuntergang; Tag

This word in other languages

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 "dan"?
"dan" is spelled D-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈdaːn].
What does "dan" mean?
As a noun, "dan" means: Zeitraum zwischen Sonnenaufgang und Sonnenuntergang; Tag
What words are commonly confused with "dan"?
"dan" is commonly confused with "du", "de", "do". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dan" is [ˈdaːn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "dan" come from?
"dan" 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 "dan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

What to do next

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

  • "dan" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "du". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #4,415 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "D" letter cohort. D–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