DW

[deːveː]

/[deːveː]/ abbrev

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

The verdict

“DW” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #14,781) as an abbreviation. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#14,781
frequency rank, German
2,764
“D” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - deutsches Kfz-Kennzeichen für den Weißeritzkreis in Dippoldiswalde

Corpus desk

Index DE-dw · DW · German

DW · rank #14,781 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,781
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,764
  • PHOTO-FINISH durchsetzt

Nearest frequency peer: durchsetzt (-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 “DW”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “DW” 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).

DW vs dz
0% similar
DW vs d
0% similar
DW vs du
0% similar

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

Key facts for DW
PropertyValue
HeadwordDW
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAbbreviation
IPA[deːveː]
Letters2
Frequency rank#14,781
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “DW” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

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

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „durchsetzt“ (#14,780), „dynastie“ (#14,782), „drittens“ (#14,779). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for DW is neighbouring look-alikes ("dz", "d", …), not just typos; it is anabbreviation pronounced [deːveː]. Frequency #14,781 among 2,764 “D” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for DW, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dz", "d", "du", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is DW, spelled D-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    deutsches Kfz-Kennzeichen für den Weißeritzkreis in Dippoldiswalde
  2. 2
    Dauerwelle(n)
  3. 3
    Dienstwohnung
  4. 4
    Deutsche Welle

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Das Auto mit dem amtlichen Kennzeichen DW-XY 123 steht im Halteverbot.
  2. Er befand sich zur fraglichen Zeit in der DW am Goetheplatz.

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 "DW"?
"DW" is spelled D-W. The IPA pronunciation is [deːveː].
What does "DW" mean?
As an abbreviation, "DW" means: deutsches Kfz-Kennzeichen für den Weißeritzkreis in Dippoldiswalde
What words are commonly confused with "DW"?
"DW" is commonly confused with "dz", "d", "du". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "DW"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "DW" is [deːveː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "DW" come from?
"DW" 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.

What to do next

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

  • "DW" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "dz". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #14,781 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