jive

[dʒaɪ̯v]

/[dʒaɪ̯v]/ noun

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

The verdict

“jive” is uncommon German (frequency #93,118 among 7,951 “J” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,118
frequency rank, German
7,951
“J” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Jive, Swingmusik

Key facts for jive
PropertyValue
Headwordjive
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[dʒaɪ̯v]
Letters4
Frequency rank#93,118
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “jive” 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). jive lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

jive is uncommon German at frequency #93,118 among 7,951 “J” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [dʒaɪ̯v]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Jive, Swingmusik".

No generated misspelling entries exist for jive in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is jive, spelled J-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Jive, Swingmusik

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 "jive"?
"jive" is spelled J-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is [dʒaɪ̯v].
What does "jive" mean?
As a noun, "jive" means: Jive, Swingmusik
How do you pronounce "jive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jive" is [dʒaɪ̯v]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "jive" come from?
"jive" 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 “jive”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is J-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [dʒaɪ̯v] (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

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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