inferior

adj

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

The verdict

“inferior” is an uncommon German word, ranked #51,431 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.

#51,431
frequency rank, German
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - tiefer gelegen, niedriger gelegen

Key facts for inferior
PropertyValue
Headwordinferior
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
Letters8
Frequency rank#51,431
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “inferior” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). inferior lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for inferior is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective. Corpus data places it at rank #51,431 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for inferior in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is inferior, spelled I-N-F-E-R-I-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    tiefer gelegen, niedriger gelegen
  2. 2
    später, jünger
  3. 3
    geringer, schwächer, nachgeordnet

Antonyms

superior

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 "inferior"?
"inferior" is spelled I-N-F-E-R-I-O-R.
What does "inferior" mean?
As an adjective, "inferior" means: tiefer gelegen, niedriger gelegen
What language does "inferior" come from?
"inferior" 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 “inferior”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is I-N-F-E-R-I-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list