Homo sapiens

[ˈhoːmo ˈzaːpi̯ɛns]

/[ˈhoːmo ˈzaːpi̯ɛns]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Homo sapiens” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - der wissenschaftliche Name für die einzige rezente Art der Gattung Mensch, der wir selbst alle angehören

Key facts for Homo sapiens
PropertyValue
HeadwordHomo sapiens
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈhoːmo ˈzaːpi̯ɛns]
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Homo sapiens” sits in German frequency

Homo sapiens falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Homo sapiens is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈhoːmo ˈzaːpi̯ɛns]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "der wissenschaftliche Name für die einzige rezente Art der Gattung Mensch, der wir selbst alle angehören".

Homo sapiens doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is Homo sapiens, spelled H-O-M-O- -S-A-P-I-E-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    der wissenschaftliche Name für die einzige rezente Art der Gattung Mensch, der wir selbst alle angehören

Antonyms

Präsapiens

This word in other languages

Homo sapiens(English)Homo sapiens(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Homo sapiens"?
"Homo sapiens" is spelled H-O-M-O- -S-A-P-I-E-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈhoːmo ˈzaːpi̯ɛns].
What does "Homo sapiens" mean?
As a noun, "Homo sapiens" means: der wissenschaftliche Name für die einzige rezente Art der Gattung Mensch, der wir selbst alle angehören
How do you pronounce "Homo sapiens"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Homo sapiens" is [ˈhoːmo ˈzaːpi̯ɛns]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Homo sapiens" come from?
"Homo sapiens" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “Homo sapiens”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is H-O-M-O- -S-A-P-I-E-N-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈhoːmo ˈzaːpi̯ɛns] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list