Hypotenuse

[hypoteˈnuːzə]

/[hypoteˈnuːzə]/ noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency German
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - längste Seite eines rechtwinkeligen Dreiecks

Key facts for Hypotenuse
PropertyValue
HeadwordHypotenuse
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[hypoteˈnuːzə]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Hypotenuse” sits in German frequency

Hypotenuse 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

Hypotenuse is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [hypoteˈnuːzə]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "längste Seite eines rechtwinkeligen Dreiecks".

Hypotenuse has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, 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 Hypotenuse, spelled H-Y-P-O-T-E-N-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    längste Seite eines rechtwinkeligen Dreiecks

Antonyms

Kathete

This word in other languages

hypotenuse(English)hipotenusa(Español)hypoténuse(Français)hipotenusa(Português)

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 "Hypotenuse"?
"Hypotenuse" is spelled H-Y-P-O-T-E-N-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is [hypoteˈnuːzə].
What does "Hypotenuse" mean?
As a noun, "Hypotenuse" means: längste Seite eines rechtwinkeligen Dreiecks
How do you pronounce "Hypotenuse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Hypotenuse" is [hypoteˈnuːzə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Hypotenuse" come from?
"Hypotenuse" 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.

Using “Hypotenuse”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is H-Y-P-O-T-E-N-U-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [hypoteˈnuːzə] (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