Nikolaus
[ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s]
The verdict
“Nikolaus” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #6,697 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,697
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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...
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 | Nikolaus |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #6,697 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Nikolaus” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Nikolaus is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s]. Corpus data places it at rank #6,697 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1Figur 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
- 2Person, die sich als Nikolaus^([1]) verkleidet hat und am 6. Dezember die Kinder beschenkt
- 3aus Schokolade, Marzipan oder Ähnlichem bestehende Figur, die den Nikolaus^([1]) darstellt
- 4Nikolaustag, den 6. Dezember
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
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.
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"?
What does "Nikolaus" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Nikolaus"?
How do you pronounce "Nikolaus"?
What language does "Nikolaus" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Nikolaus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is N-I-K-O-L-A-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈnɪkolaʊ̯s] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Niklas” - see the side-by-side comparison. Nikolaus vs Niklas
- 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.