NGO

[ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊ]

/[ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊ]/ abbrev

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

The verdict

“NGO” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #23,644) as an abbreviation. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#23,644
frequency rank, German
1,954
“N” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - in den unterschiedlichsten zivilgesellschaftlichen Bereichen tätige regierungsunabhängige Organisation

Corpus desk

Index DE-ngo · NGO · German

NGO · rank #23,644 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,644
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,954
  • PHOTO-FINISH nicken

Nearest frequency peer: nicken (+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.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „NGO“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „NGO“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

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).

NGO vs NS
33% similar
NGO vs Ni
33% similar
NGO vs nm
0% similar

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

Key facts for NGO
PropertyValue
HeadwordNGO
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAbbreviation
IPA[ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊ]
Letters3
Frequency rank#23,644
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „NGO“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.NGOliegt auf dieser Marke:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „nicken“ (#23,645), „Neuwahl“ (#23,642), „Northeim“ (#23,646). Unter 1,954 „N“-Lemmata liegt „NGO“ bei #23,644. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for NGO is neighbouring look-alikes ("NS", "Ni", …), not just typos; it is anabbreviation pronounced [ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊ]. Frequency #23,644 among 1,954 “N” headwords. Gloss: "in den unterschiedlichsten zivilgesellschaftlichen Bereichen tätige regierungsunabhängige Organisation".

No misspelling variants are generated for NGO in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NS", "Ni", "nm", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is NGO, spelled N-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    in den unterschiedlichsten zivilgesellschaftlichen Bereichen tätige regierungsunabhängige Organisation

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „‚In jedem demokratischen Staat gibt es Organisationen der Zivilgesellschaft (NGO), die mit der Regierung zusammenarbeiten, sie aber auch kritisieren, wo es notwendig ist‘, sagte Tjombe. Gurirab hielt fest, dass ‚NGOs gebraucht werden, genau wie die Medien, auch wenn beide manchmal recht anstrengend sind‘.“
  2. „Und sollte sich auch das als unmöglich erweisen, kann man immer noch versuchen, ein nichtstaatliches, von NGOs getragenes Tribunal zu veranstalten, dass eine zumindest symbolische rechtliche Autorität beanspruchen kann.“

Synonyms

Nichtregierungsorganisationnichtstaatliche OrganisationNRO

Antonyms

IGO

This word in other languages

NGO(English)ONG(Español)ONG(Français)ONG(Português)

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 "NGO"?
"NGO" is spelled N-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊ].
What does "NGO" mean?
As an abbreviation, "NGO" means: in den unterschiedlichsten zivilgesellschaftlichen Bereichen tätige regierungsunabhängige Organisation
What words are commonly confused with "NGO"?
"NGO" is commonly confused with "NS", "Ni", "nm". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "NGO"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "NGO" is [ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "NGO" come from?
"NGO" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "NGO", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pal#23,653sad#23,689Ubs#23,743vis#23,775

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list