Motiv
[moˈtiːf]
The verdict
“Motiv” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #4,060 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,060
- frequency rank, German
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 15
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - der Anreiz oder Grund für eine Handlung, speziell für eine Straftat
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 | Motiv |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [moˈtiːf] |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #4,060 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 15 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Motiv” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Motiv is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [moˈtiːf]. Corpus data places it at rank #4,060 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 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 Motiv, with forms such as "mmotiv", "moitv", and "motivv". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "moto", "Motor", "Motto", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Motiv, spelled M-O-T-I-V.
Definition
- 1der Anreiz oder Grund für eine Handlung, speziell für eine Straftat
- 2kleinster Baustein eines musikalischen Themas
- 3Gegenstand eines Bildes
- 4eine algebraische Struktur
- 5wiederholbare, bedeutungsvolle Inhaltseinheit
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mmotiv,moitv,motivv,mottiv,motvi,mtoiv,omtiv
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Motiv - 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 “Motiv”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is M-O-T-I-V - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [moˈtiːf] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “moto” - see the side-by-side comparison. Motiv vs moto
- 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.