Merkel

[ˈmɛʁkl̩]

/[ˈmɛʁkl̩]/ name

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

The verdict

“Merkel” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #1,330. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,330
frequency rank, German
3,571
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - deutscher Familienname

Corpus desk

Index DE-merkel · Merkel · German

Merkel · rank #1,330 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,330
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,571
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kilometer

Nearest frequency peer: Kilometer (-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 „Merkel“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Merkel“ 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).

Merkel vs merkt
50% similar
Merkel vs merle
50% similar
Merkel vs merken
67% similar

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

Key facts for Merkel
PropertyValue
HeadwordMerkel
LanguageGerman
Part of speechProper noun
IPA[ˈmɛʁkl̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,330
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Merkel“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Merkelliegt 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: „Kilometer“ (#1,329), „relativ“ (#1,331), „holen“ (#1,328). Unter 3,571 „M“-Lemmata liegt „Merkel“ bei #1,330. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around Merkel (IPA [ˈmɛʁkl̩]), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #1,330 among 3,571 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "deutscher Familienname".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Merkel, with forms such as "emrkel", "mekrel", and "merekl". 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, "merkt", "merle", "merken", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Merkel, spelled M-E-R-K-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    deutscher Familienname

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Herr Merkel kauft sich jedes Jahr einen neuen Roller.
  2. Mit diesem Schema lässt sich die Lage der Eltern der Generation Merkel erfassen, die vor der Aufgabe stand, eine autoritäre Gesellschaft zu liberalisieren und die nationalsozialistische Schuld aufzudecken.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emrkel
  • mekrel
  • merekl
  • merkell
  • merkkel
  • merkle
  • merrkel
  • mmerkel
  • mrekel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Merkel - 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.

emrkel2mekrel2merekl2merkell1merkkel1merkle2merrkel1mmerkel1
Edit distance from "Merkel"

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 "Merkel"?
"Merkel" is spelled M-E-R-K-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈmɛʁkl̩].
What does "Merkel" mean?
As a proper noun, "Merkel" means: deutscher Familienname
What words are commonly confused with "Merkel"?
"Merkel" is commonly confused with "merkt", "merle", "merken". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Merkel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Merkel" is [ˈmɛʁkl̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Merkel" come from?
"Merkel" 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 "Merkel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Herzen#1,326glaubt#1,325bieten#1,317begann#1,346

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Energie9 variantsgelten9 variantsmeinst9 variantsJugend9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list