Maikäfer

[ˈmaɪ̯ˌkɛːfɐ]

/[ˈmaɪ̯ˌkɛːfɐ]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Maikäfer” is uncommon German (frequency #85,546 among 3,571 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,546
frequency rank, German
3,571
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - die Insektengattung Melolontha aus der Familie der Blatthornkäfer

Corpus desk

Index DE-maikafer · Maikäfer · German

Maikäfer · rank #85,546 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,546
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,571
  • PHOTO-FINISH mage

Nearest frequency peer: mage (-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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „Maikäfer“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „Maikäfer“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Maikäfer
PropertyValue
HeadwordMaikäfer
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈmaɪ̯ˌkɛːfɐ]
Letters8
Frequency rank#85,546
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Maikäfer“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Maikäferfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „mage“ (#85,545), „Maische“ (#85,547), „makroskopische“ (#85,548). Unter 3,571 „M“-Lemmata liegt „Maikäfer“ bei #85,546. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Maikäfer is uncommon German at frequency #85,546 among 3,571 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈmaɪ̯ˌkɛːfɐ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for Maikäfer in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Maikäfer, spelled M-A-I-K-Ä-F-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    die Insektengattung Melolontha aus der Familie der Blatthornkäfer
  2. 2
    ein Vertreter von [1]; brauner, blattfressender Käfer, dessen Larven (die Engerlinge) sich von Wurzeln ernähren

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Maikäfer werden bis zu 23 mm groß.
  2. „Maikäfer haben eine Zykluszeit von drei bis fünf, meist vier Jahren. Das heißt, die frischgeschlüpften Engerlinge benötigen vier Jahre, bis sie eine vollständige Metamorphose zum geschlechtsreifen Tier durchgemacht haben.“

Synonyms

Melolontha hippocastani

This word in other languages

cockchafer(English)abejorro(Español)hanneton(Français)

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 "Maikäfer"?
"Maikäfer" is spelled M-A-I-K-Ä-F-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈmaɪ̯ˌkɛːfɐ].
What does "Maikäfer" mean?
As a noun, "Maikäfer" means: die Insektengattung Melolontha aus der Familie der Blatthornkäfer
How do you pronounce "Maikäfer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Maikäfer" is [ˈmaɪ̯ˌkɛːfɐ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Maikäfer" come from?
"Maikäfer" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Maikäfer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Lichthof#85,520Lexikons#85,514letzthin#85,513Lesarten#85,510

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list