octopus

[ˈɒktəpəs]

/[ˈɒktəpəs]/ noun

The verdict

“octopus” is uncommon German (frequency #84,367 among 1,007 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,367
frequency rank, German
1,007
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Oktopus, Krake

Corpus desk

Index DE-octopus · octopus · German

octopus · rank #84,367 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,367
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,007
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ochsenfurt

Nearest frequency peer: Ochsenfurt (-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 „octopus“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for octopus
PropertyValue
Headwordoctopus
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈɒktəpəs]
Letters7
Frequency rank#84,367
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „octopus“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.octopusfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Ochsenfurt“ (#84,365), „Olav“ (#84,369), „obvious“ (#84,364). Unter 1,007 „O“-Lemmata liegt „octopus“ bei #84,367. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

octopus is uncommon German at frequency #84,367 among 1,007 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈɒktəpəs]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Oktopus, Krake".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for octopus, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is octopus, spelled O-C-T-O-P-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Oktopus, Krake

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. "Once a leash of thin black whips, like the arms of an octopus, flashed across the sunset and was immediately withdrawn, and afterwards a thin rod rose up, joint be joint, bearing at its apex a circular disk that spun with a wobbling motion."

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 "octopus"?
"octopus" is spelled O-C-T-O-P-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈɒktəpəs].
What does "octopus" mean?
As a noun, "octopus" means: Oktopus, Krake
How do you pronounce "octopus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "octopus" is [ˈɒktəpəs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "octopus" come from?
"octopus" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "octopus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list