Kardinal

[ˌkaʁdiˈnaːl]

/[ˌkaʁdiˈnaːl]/ noun

The verdict

“Kardinal” has 12 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #7,946. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,946
frequency rank, German
4,158
“K” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - vom Papst verliehener religiöser Titel, der zur Papstwahl berechtigt

Corpus desk

Index DE-kardinal · Kardinal · German

Kardinal · rank #7,946 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,946
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,158
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kapazität

Nearest frequency peer: Kapazität (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Kardinal“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Kardinal“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Kardinal vs Karina
75% similar
Kardinal vs Kardinäle
78% similar
Kardinal vs Kardinals
89% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Kardinal
PropertyValue
HeadwordKardinal
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˌkaʁdiˈnaːl]
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,946
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Kardinal“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Kardinalliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Kapazität“ (#7,945), „Karneval“ (#7,947), „Kaninchen“ (#7,944). Unter 4,158 „K“-Lemmata liegt „Kardinal“ bei #7,946. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around Kardinal (IPA [ˌkaʁdiˈnaːl]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,946 among 4,158 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Kardinal, with forms such as "akrdinal", "kadrinal", and "karddinal". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Karina", "Kardinäle", "Kardinals", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Kardinal, spelled K-A-R-D-I-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    vom Papst verliehener religiöser Titel, der zur Papstwahl berechtigt
  2. 2
    Vertreter einer nur in Amerika heimischen Vogelfamilie
  3. 3
    ein Schmetterling aus der Familie der Edelfalter

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Papst beriet sich mit seinen Kardinälen.
  2. „Als Kardinal Anton Gruscha die Initiative ergriff, ordnete Franz Joseph I. am 18. April 1896 dem Kultusministerium die Bereitstellung der Geldmittel an; die Grundsteinlegung erfolgte am 10. Oktober 1896 in seiner Anwesenheit.“

Synonyms

PurpurträgerCardinalidaeArgynnis pandora

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • akrdinal
  • kadrinal
  • karddinal
  • kardianl
  • kardinall
  • kardinla
  • kardinnal
  • kardnial
  • karidnal
  • karrdinal
  • kkardinal
  • kradinal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Kardinal - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

akrdinal2kadrinal2karddinal1kardianl2kardinall1kardinla2kardinnal1kardnial2
Edit distance from "Kardinal"

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 "Kardinal"?
"Kardinal" is spelled K-A-R-D-I-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌkaʁdiˈnaːl].
What does "Kardinal" mean?
As a noun, "Kardinal" means: vom Papst verliehener religiöser Titel, der zur Papstwahl berechtigt
What words are commonly confused with "Kardinal"?
"Kardinal" is commonly confused with "Karina", "Kardinäle", "Kardinals". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Kardinal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Kardinal" is [ˌkaʁdiˈnaːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Kardinal" come from?
"Kardinal" 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 "Kardinal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list