legitimieren
[leɡitiˈmiːʁən]
The verdict
“legitimieren” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #32,150 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #32,150
- frequency rank, German
- 12
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - rechtlich anerkennen, als rechtens erklären
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 | legitimieren |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [leɡitiˈmiːʁən] |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #32,150 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “legitimieren” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for legitimieren is 12 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [leɡitiˈmiːʁən]. Corpus data places it at rank #32,150 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.
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for legitimieren, with forms such as "elgitimieren", "leggitimieren", and "legiitmieren". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "legitimiert", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is legitimieren, spelled L-E-G-I-T-I-M-I-E-R-E-N.
Definition
- 1rechtlich anerkennen, als rechtens erklären
- 2jemanden mit gewissen Rechten ausstatten
- 3sich ausweisen, seine Identität (und sein Recht auf Anwesenheit) nachweisen
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: elgitimieren,leggitimieren,legiitmieren,legitiimeren,legitimeiren,legitimieern,legitimierenn,legitimierne,legitimierren,legitimireen,legitimmieren,legitmiieren,legittimieren,legtiimieren,leigtimieren,lgeitimieren,llegitimieren
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of legitimieren - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "legitimieren"?
What does "legitimieren" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "legitimieren"?
How do you pronounce "legitimieren"?
What language does "legitimieren" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “legitimieren”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is L-E-G-I-T-I-M-I-E-R-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [leɡitiˈmiːʁən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “legitimiert” - see the side-by-side comparison. legitimieren vs legitimiert
- 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.