Merkmal

[ˈmɛʁkmaːl]

/[ˈmɛʁkmaːl]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Merkmal” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #9,950. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,950
frequency rank, German
3,571
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - typische Eigenschaft, an der man erkennt, wodurch sich etwas von Ähnlichem unterscheidet

Corpus desk

Index DE-merkmal · Merkmal · German

Merkmal · rank #9,950 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,950
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,571
  • PHOTO-FINISH mdr

Nearest frequency peer: mdr (-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 „Merkmal“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Merkmal“ 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).

Merkmal vs Merkmale
88% similar
Merkmal vs Merkmalen
78% similar
Merkmal vs Merkel
71% similar

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

Key facts for Merkmal
PropertyValue
HeadwordMerkmal
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈmɛʁkmaːl]
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,950
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Merkmal“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Merkmalliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „mdr“ (#9,949), „Moses“ (#9,951), „Matrix“ (#9,948). Unter 3,571 „M“-Lemmata liegt „Merkmal“ bei #9,950. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Merkmal (IPA [ˈmɛʁkmaːl]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,950 among 3,571 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Merkmal, with forms such as "emrkmal", "mekrmal", and "merkaml". 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, "Merkmale", "Merkmalen", "Merkel", 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 its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Merkmal, spelled M-E-R-K-M-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    typische Eigenschaft, an der man erkennt, wodurch sich etwas von Ähnlichem unterscheidet
  2. 2
    Eigenschaft, die einem linguistischen Gegenstand (Phonem, Lexem,…) zugeschrieben wird
  3. 3
    logisches Prädikat einer statistischen Einheit (= eines Merkmalsträgers), beispielsweise „Zahlungsbereitschaft“ zur statistischen Einheit „Kunde“

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Die langgestreckte Rückenflosse ist ein Merkmal des Karpfens, aber auch der Karausche.
  2. „Vor allem ihre Mutter hatte Angst, dass Mariana wegen ihres Merkmales von anderen Kindern gemobbt werden könnte.“

Synonyms

CharakteristikumKennzeichenWesenszugVariable

This word in other languages

characteristic(English)característica(Español)caractéristique(Français)marca(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emrkmal
  • mekrmal
  • merkaml
  • merkkmal
  • merkmall
  • merkmla
  • merkmmal
  • mermkal
  • merrkmal
  • mmerkmal
  • mrekmal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

emrkmal2mekrmal2merkaml2merkkmal1merkmall1merkmla2merkmmal1mermkal2
Edit distance from "Merkmal"

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 "Merkmal"?
"Merkmal" is spelled M-E-R-K-M-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈmɛʁkmaːl].
What does "Merkmal" mean?
As a noun, "Merkmal" means: typische Eigenschaft, an der man erkennt, wodurch sich etwas von Ähnlichem unterscheidet
What words are commonly confused with "Merkmal"?
"Merkmal" is commonly confused with "Merkmale", "Merkmalen", "Merkel". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Merkmal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Merkmal" is [ˈmɛʁkmaːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Merkmal" come from?
"Merkmal" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "Merkmal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Mathias#9,947nannten#9,955offenes#9,957offline#9,958

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Invasion11 variantsspielst11 variantsstechen11 variantsgefärbt11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list