Ehrgeiz
[ˈeːɐ̯ˌɡaɪ̯t͡s]
The verdict
“Ehrgeiz” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #12,484 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #12,484
- frequency rank, German
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - starkes Streben nach Erfolg
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 | Ehrgeiz |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈeːɐ̯ˌɡaɪ̯t͡s] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #12,484 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Ehrgeiz” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Ehrgeiz is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈeːɐ̯ˌɡaɪ̯t͡s]. Corpus data places it at rank #12,484 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "starkes Streben nach Erfolg".
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for Ehrgeiz, with forms such as "ehgreiz", "ehhrgeiz", and "ehregiz". 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, "ehrgeizig", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is Ehrgeiz, spelled E-H-R-G-E-I-Z.
Definition
- 1starkes Streben nach Erfolg
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ehgreiz,ehhrgeiz,ehregiz,ehrgeizz,ehrgezi,ehrggeiz,ehrgiez,ehrrgeiz,erhgeiz,hergeiz
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Ehrgeiz - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "Ehrgeiz"?
What does "Ehrgeiz" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Ehrgeiz"?
How do you pronounce "Ehrgeiz"?
What language does "Ehrgeiz" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Ehrgeiz”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is E-H-R-G-E-I-Z - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈeːɐ̯ˌɡaɪ̯t͡s] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ehrgeizig” - see the side-by-side comparison. Ehrgeiz vs ehrgeizig
- 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.