initial

/[iniˈt͡si̯aːl]/ adj

Letters

7 characters

Frequency Rank

#36,990

in German word usage

Misspellings

9

tracked variants

Confusables

1

similar word pairs

initial is anGermanadj. It means: anfänglich, beginnend Pronounced [iniˈt͡si̯aːl]. Often confused with Initialen.

Key facts for initial
PropertyValue
Headwordinitial
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdj
IPA[iniˈt͡si̯aːl]
Letters7
Frequency rank#36,990
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of initial in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for initial is 7 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [iniˈt͡si̯aːl]. Corpus data places it at rank #36,990 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "anfänglich, beginnend".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for initial, with forms such as "iintial", "iniital", and "initail". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Initialen", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

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. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is initial, spelled I-N-I-T-I-A-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    anfänglich, beginnend

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: iintial,iniital,initail,initiall,initila,inittial,innitial,intiial,niitial

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for initial

Misspelling Variants of "initial"

iintial7iniital7initail7initiall8initila7inittial8innitial8intiial7
Misspelling Variants of "initial"

Frequency rank: #36,990 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "initial"?
"initial" is spelled I-N-I-T-I-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [iniˈt͡si̯aːl].
What does "initial" mean?
As an adj, "initial" means: anfänglich, beginnend
What words are commonly confused with "initial"?
"initial" is commonly confused with "Initialen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "initial"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "initial" is [iniˈt͡si̯aːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "initial" come from?
"initial" 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.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter I in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.