Nikolaus

[ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s]

/[ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Nikolaus” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #6,697. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,697
frequency rank, German
1,954
“N” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Figur des Weihnachtsbrauchtums nach dem Vorbild des heiligen Nikolaus, an deren Existenz die Kinder glauben sollen; sie trägt eine große Mütze und ein langes Gewand und füllt in der Nacht zum 6. De...

Corpus desk

Index DE-nikolaus · Nikolaus · German

Nikolaus · rank #6,697 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,697
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,954
  • PHOTO-FINISH niedrige

Nearest frequency peer: niedrige (-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 „Nikolaus“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Nikolaus“ 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).

Nikolaus vs Niklas
75% similar
Nikolaus vs Nikola
75% similar
Nikolaus vs Nicolas
75% similar

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

Key facts for Nikolaus
PropertyValue
HeadwordNikolaus
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s]
Letters8
Frequency rank#6,697
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Nikolaus“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Nikolausliegt 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: „niedrige“ (#6,696), „nötige“ (#6,698), „Mythos“ (#6,695). Unter 1,954 „N“-Lemmata liegt „Nikolaus“ bei #6,697. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Nikolaus (IPA [ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,697 among 1,954 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Nikolaus, with forms such as "inkolaus", "nikkolaus", and "nikloaus". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Niklas", "Nikola", "Nicolas", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Nikolaus, spelled N-I-K-O-L-A-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Figur des Weihnachtsbrauchtums nach dem Vorbild des heiligen Nikolaus, an deren Existenz die Kinder glauben sollen; sie trägt eine große Mütze und ein langes Gewand und füllt in der Nacht zum 6. Dezember den Kindern Süßigkeiten in die Schuhe oder bringt ihnen andere Geschenke
  2. 2
    Person, die sich als Nikolaus^([1]) verkleidet hat und am 6. Dezember die Kinder beschenkt
  3. 3
    aus Schokolade, Marzipan oder Ähnlichem bestehende Figur, die den Nikolaus^([1]) darstellt
  4. 4
    Nikolaustag, den 6. Dezember

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Putz deine Schuhe, morgen kommt der Nikolaus!
  2. Guck mal! Meine neue Kette! Hab ich vom Nikolaus geschenkt bekommen!

Synonyms

NikoloSamichlausNikolaustagNikoloNikolotagSamichlausSamichlaustag

Antonyms

PelzmärtelVäterchen FrostChristkindChristkindlChristkindleChristchindliChrischtchindliOsterhase

This word in other languages

Saint Nicholas(English)Saint-Nicolas(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inkolaus
  • nikkolaus
  • nikloaus
  • nikoalus
  • nikolasu
  • nikolauss
  • nikollaus
  • nikoluas
  • nioklaus
  • nkiolaus
  • nnikolaus

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

inkolaus2nikkolaus1nikloaus2nikoalus2nikolasu2nikolauss1nikollaus1nikoluas2
Edit distance from "Nikolaus"

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 "Nikolaus"?
"Nikolaus" is spelled N-I-K-O-L-A-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s].
What does "Nikolaus" mean?
As a noun, "Nikolaus" means: Figur des Weihnachtsbrauchtums nach dem Vorbild des heiligen Nikolaus, an deren Existenz die Kinder glauben sollen; sie trägt eine große Mütze und ein langes Gewand und füllt in der Nacht zum 6. De...
What words are commonly confused with "Nikolaus"?
"Nikolaus" is commonly confused with "Niklas", "Nikola", "Nicolas". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Nikolaus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Nikolaus" is [ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Nikolaus" come from?
"Nikolaus" 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 "Nikolaus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

niedrige#6,696Komplexe#6,685komische#6,684Prognose#6,710

Similar misspelling depth

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

Körpers11 variantsschicke11 variantstraurige11 variantsgerissen11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list