Nichtwissen

[ˈnɪçtˌvɪsn̩]

/[ˈnɪçtˌvɪsn̩]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Nichtwissen” is uncommon German (frequency #85,640 among 1,954 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,640
frequency rank, German
1,954
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - das Fehlen von Kenntnissen über etwas

Corpus desk

Index DE-nichtwissen · Nichtwissen · German

Nichtwissen · rank #85,640 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,640
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,954
  • PHOTO-FINISH niedrigster

Nearest frequency peer: niedrigster (+2 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 „Nichtwissen“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Nichtwissen
PropertyValue
HeadwordNichtwissen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈnɪçtˌvɪsn̩]
Letters11
Frequency rank#85,640
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Nichtwissen“ im Deutschen

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

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „niedrigster“ (#85,642), „nimmermehr“ (#85,643), „Neugliederung“ (#85,635). Unter 1,954 „N“-Lemmata liegt „Nichtwissen“ bei #85,640. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Nichtwissen is uncommon German at frequency #85,640 among 1,954 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈnɪçtˌvɪsn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "das Fehlen von Kenntnissen über etwas".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Nichtwissen, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

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 Nichtwissen, spelled N-I-C-H-T-W-I-S-S-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    das Fehlen von Kenntnissen über etwas

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. „Andererseits ermöglicht das Nichtwissen eine unvoreingenommene, prägungsfreie Sicht auf Argumente.“

Synonyms

DummheitKenntnislosigkeitUnkenntnisUnwissenUnwissenheit

Antonyms

Wissen

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 "Nichtwissen"?
"Nichtwissen" is spelled N-I-C-H-T-W-I-S-S-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈnɪçtˌvɪsn̩].
What does "Nichtwissen" mean?
As a noun, "Nichtwissen" means: das Fehlen von Kenntnissen über etwas
How do you pronounce "Nichtwissen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Nichtwissen" is [ˈnɪçtˌvɪsn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Nichtwissen" come from?
"Nichtwissen" 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 "Nichtwissen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

niedrigster#85,642Nadelstiche#85,625offenherzig#85,656nachgeguckt#85,619

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list