different
[dɪfəˈʁɛnt]
The verdict
“different” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #25,505 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #25,505
- frequency rank, German
- 9
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - in mindestens einem Merkmal voneinander abweichend
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | different |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [dɪfəˈʁɛnt] |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #25,505 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “different” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for different is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [dɪfəˈʁɛnt]. Corpus data places it at rank #25,505 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "in mindestens einem Merkmal voneinander abweichend".
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for different, with forms such as "ddifferent", "dfiferent", and "difefrent". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Differenz", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is different, spelled D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1in mindestens einem Merkmal voneinander abweichend
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddifferent,dfiferent,difefrent,diferent,diffeernt,differennt,differentt,differetn,differnet,differrent,diffreent,idfferent
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of different - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “different”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [dɪfəˈʁɛnt] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Differenz” - see the side-by-side comparison. different vs Differenz
- 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.