Gespenst

[ɡəˈʃpɛnst]

/[ɡəˈʃpɛnst]/ noun

The verdict

“Gespenst” has 13 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #20,601. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,601
frequency rank, German
5,117
“G” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Geist; ein meist Furcht einflößendes, übernatürliches Wesen

Corpus desk

Index DE-gespenst · Gespenst · German

Gespenst · rank #20,601 · 13 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,601
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,117
  • PHOTO-FINISH Geschwätz

Nearest frequency peer: Geschwätz (-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 „Gespenst“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Gespenst“ 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).

Gespenst vs gesperrt
63% similar
Gespenst vs gesprengt
67% similar
Gespenst vs Gespenster
80% similar

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

Key facts for Gespenst
PropertyValue
HeadwordGespenst
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɡəˈʃpɛnst]
Letters8
Frequency rank#20,601
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Gespenst“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Gespenstliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Geschwätz“ (#20,600), „gestolpert“ (#20,602), „geschissen“ (#20,599). Unter 5,117 „G“-Lemmata liegt „Gespenst“ bei #20,601. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around Gespenst (IPA [ɡəˈʃpɛnst]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,601 among 5,117 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Gespenst, with forms such as "egspenst", "gepsenst", and "gesepnst". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "gesperrt", "gesprengt", "Gespenster", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, 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 Gespenst, spelled G-E-S-P-E-N-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Geist; ein meist Furcht einflößendes, übernatürliches Wesen
  2. 2
    etwas Gewaltiges und Unheimliches, das schwer zu fassen ist und doch beherrschend im Raum steht oder untrennbar mit einer Sache verbunden ist

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In der alten Villa haust ein Gespenst.
  2. „Meine Bediensteten erschienen einen Augenblick darauf; auch sie hatten von den Gespenstern gehört und wollten mich überreden, die Nacht auf dem Pachtgut zu verbringen.“

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • egspenst
  • gepsenst
  • gesepnst
  • gespennst
  • gespensst
  • gespenstt
  • gespents
  • gespesnt
  • gespnest
  • gesppenst
  • gesspenst
  • ggespenst
  • gsepenst

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Gespenst - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

egspenst2gepsenst2gesepnst2gespennst1gespensst1gespenstt1gespents2gespesnt2
Edit distance from "Gespenst"

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 "Gespenst"?
"Gespenst" is spelled G-E-S-P-E-N-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ɡəˈʃpɛnst].
What does "Gespenst" mean?
As a noun, "Gespenst" means: Geist; ein meist Furcht einflößendes, übernatürliches Wesen
What words are commonly confused with "Gespenst"?
"Gespenst" is commonly confused with "gesperrt", "gesprengt", "Gespenster". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Gespenst"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Gespenst" is [ɡəˈʃpɛnst]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Gespenst" come from?
"Gespenst" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Gespenst", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list