gemein

[ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]

/[ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]/ adj

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

The verdict

“gemein” has 8 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #5,262. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,262
frequency rank, German
5,117
“G” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - eine Eigenschaft habend, die mehreren gemeinsam ist

Corpus desk

Index DE-gemein · gemein · German

gemein · rank #5,262 · 8 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,262
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,117
  • PHOTO-FINISH feine

Nearest frequency peer: feine (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „gemein“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „gemein“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

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).

gemein vs Genen
50% similar
gemein vs Geweih
50% similar
gemein vs gemeint
86% similar

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

Key facts for gemein
PropertyValue
Headwordgemein
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,262
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „gemein“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).gemeinliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „feine“ (#5,261), „genial“ (#5,263), „erteilt“ (#5,260). Unter 5,117 „G“-Lemmata liegt „gemein“ bei #5,262. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around gemein (IPA [ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #5,262 among 5,117 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for gemein, with forms such as "egmein", "geemin", and "gemeinn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "Genen", "Geweih", "gemeint", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is gemein, spelled G-E-M-E-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    eine Eigenschaft habend, die mehreren gemeinsam ist
  2. 2
    einfach und gewöhnlich; nicht besser als der Durchschnitt
  3. 3
    vulgär; von niederer Gesinnung
  4. 4
    dem anderen übelwollend, fies, schofel
  5. 5
    sehr; intensiv oder schmerzhaft

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. All diesen Leuten ist die Muttersprache Deutsch gemein.
  2. Hier wächst eine Gemeine Schlüsselblume.

Synonyms

gemeinsameinfachnormalgewöhnlichordinärunverschämtvulgärwiderwärtigboshaftfieshinterhältigniederträchtigschofelübelwollend

This word in other languages

common(English)común(Español)commun(Français)mau(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • egmein
  • geemin
  • gemeinn
  • gemeni
  • gemien
  • gemmein
  • ggemein
  • gmeein

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gemein - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

egmein2geemin2gemeinn1gemeni2gemien2gemmein1ggemein1gmeein2
Edit distance from "gemein"

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 "gemein"?
"gemein" is spelled G-E-M-E-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɡəˈmaɪ̯n].
What does "gemein" mean?
As an adjective, "gemein" means: eine Eigenschaft habend, die mehreren gemeinsam ist
What words are commonly confused with "gemein"?
"gemein" is commonly confused with "Genen", "Geweih", "gemeint". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gemein"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gemein" is [ɡəˈmaɪ̯n]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "gemein" come from?
"gemein" 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 "gemein", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

genial#5,263Leiche#5,280Medium#5,283Michel#5,284

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Allianz8 variantsoffener8 variantsOrange8 variantsweitem8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list