Ernst

/[ɛʁnst]/ noun

Letters

5 characters

Frequency Rank

#531

in German word usage

Misspellings

8

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

Ernst is aGermannoun. It means: scherzlose, überlegte und entschiedene Gesinnung; sachlich, aufrichtige Haltung Pronounced [ɛʁnst]. It ranks #531 in German word frequency. Often confused with est and Ers.

Key facts for Ernst
PropertyValue
HeadwordErnst
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɛʁnst]
Letters5
Frequency rank#531
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Ernst in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Ernst is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɛʁnst]. Corpus data places it at rank #531 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for Ernst, with forms such as "enrst", "ernnst", and "ernsst". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "est", "Ers", "erst", 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 spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is Ernst, spelled E-R-N-S-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    scherzlose, überlegte und entschiedene Gesinnung; sachlich, aufrichtige Haltung
  2. 2
    Gewichtigkeit bis hin zur Bedrohlichkeit

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: enrst,ernnst,ernsst,ernstt,ernts,errnst,ersnt,renst

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Ernst

Misspelling Variants of "Ernst"

enrst5ernnst6ernsst6ernstt6ernts5errnst6ersnt5renst5
Misspelling Variants of "Ernst"

Frequency rank: #531 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Ernst"?
"Ernst" is spelled E-R-N-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛʁnst].
What does "Ernst" mean?
As a noun, "Ernst" means: scherzlose, überlegte und entschiedene Gesinnung; sachlich, aufrichtige Haltung
What words are commonly confused with "Ernst"?
"Ernst" is commonly confused with "est", "Ers", "erst". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Ernst"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Ernst" is [ɛʁnst]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Ernst" come from?
"Ernst" 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.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter E in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.