Hyäne

[hyˈɛːnə]

/[hyˈɛːnə]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Hyäne” is uncommon German (frequency #94,425 among 3,372 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,425
frequency rank, German
3,372
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - in Afrika und Südwestasien beheimatetes, oberflächlich hundeähnliches, systematisch jedoch katzenartiges Raubtier, das sich vor allem von Aas ernährt; ein Vertreter von [3]

Corpus desk

Index DE-hyane · Hyäne · German

Hyäne · rank #94,425 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #94,425
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,372
  • PHOTO-FINISH HWS

Nearest frequency peer: HWS (-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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „Hyäne“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „Hyäne“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Hyäne
PropertyValue
HeadwordHyäne
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[hyˈɛːnə]
Letters5
Frequency rank#94,425
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Hyäne“ im Deutschen

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Hyänefällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „HWS“ (#94,424), „Huub“ (#94,423), „Hämmerle“ (#94,427). Unter 3,372 „H“-Lemmata liegt „Hyäne“ bei #94,425. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Hyäne is uncommon German at frequency #94,425 among 3,372 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [hyˈɛːnə]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Hyäne doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Hyäne, spelled H-Y-Ä-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    in Afrika und Südwestasien beheimatetes, oberflächlich hundeähnliches, systematisch jedoch katzenartiges Raubtier, das sich vor allem von Aas ernährt; ein Vertreter von [3]
  2. 2
    eine ungehemmt egoistische Person ohne jegliche Skrupel
  3. 3
    eine Familie der Ordnung der Raubtiere

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Hyänen zeichnen sich durch ihren markanten, an Gelächter erinnernden Ruf aus.
  2. „Neuere Literatur über die Hyäne ist etwas weniger emotionsgeladen, aber nicht weniger furchteinflößend.“

Synonyms

Hyaenidae

This word in other languages

hyena(English)hiena(Español)hyène(Français)hiena(Português)

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 "Hyäne"?
"Hyäne" is spelled H-Y-Ä-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is [hyˈɛːnə].
What does "Hyäne" mean?
As a noun, "Hyäne" means: in Afrika und Südwestasien beheimatetes, oberflächlich hundeähnliches, systematisch jedoch katzenartiges Raubtier, das sich vor allem von Aas ernährt; ein Vertreter von [3]
How do you pronounce "Hyäne"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Hyäne" is [hyˈɛːnə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Hyäne" come from?
"Hyäne" 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 "Hyäne", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hundi#94,421Heins#94,393kuckt#94,526Lakai#94,533

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list