LaTeX
[ˈlaːtɛç]
The verdict
“LaTeX” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #14,862 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,862
- frequency rank, German
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Softwarepaket (eine Sammlung von Makros) für das Textsatzsystem TeX
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | LaTeX |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈlaːtɛç] |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #14,862 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “LaTeX” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for LaTeX is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈlaːtɛç]. Corpus data places it at rank #14,862 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for LaTeX, with forms such as "altex", "laetx", and "latexx". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "LTE", "lex", "lax", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is LaTeX, spelled L-A-T-E-X.
Definition
- 1Softwarepaket (eine Sammlung von Makros) für das Textsatzsystem TeX
- 2Auszeichnungssprache für den Textsatz mit dem Softwarepaket LaTeX, Datenformat
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: altex,laetx,latexx,lattex,latxe,llatex,ltaex
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of LaTeX - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “LaTeX”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is L-A-T-E-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈlaːtɛç] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “LTE” - see the side-by-side comparison. LaTeX vs LTE
- 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.