Harlem
[ˈhaːɐ̯lɛm]
The verdict
“Harlem” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #29,618 in German word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #29,618
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Stadtteil im New Yorker Stadtbezirk Manhattan
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 | Harlem |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | [ˈhaːɐ̯lɛm] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #29,618 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Harlem” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Harlem is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈhaːɐ̯lɛm]. Corpus data places it at rank #29,618 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Stadtteil im New Yorker Stadtbezirk Manhattan".
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Harlem, with forms such as "ahrlem", "halrem", and "harelm". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "harm", "härte", "harter", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is Harlem, spelled H-A-R-L-E-M.
Definition
- 1Stadtteil im New Yorker Stadtbezirk Manhattan
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ahrlem,halrem,harelm,harlemm,harllem,harlme,harrlem,hharlem,hralem
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Harlem - 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.
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 "Harlem"?
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Using “Harlem”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is H-A-R-L-E-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈhaːɐ̯lɛm] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “harm” - see the side-by-side comparison. Harlem vs harm
- 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.