östlich
[ˈœstlɪç]
The verdict
“östlich” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #8,495 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #8,495
- frequency rank, German
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - im Osten (von etwas) befindlich
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 | östlich |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ˈœstlɪç] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #8,495 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “östlich” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for östlich is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈœstlɪç]. Corpus data places it at rank #8,495 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 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 östlich, with forms such as "sötlich", "ösltich", and "össtlich". 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, "östliche", "östlichen", "östlicher", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is östlich, spelled Ö-S-T-L-I-C-H.
Definition
- 1im Osten (von etwas) befindlich
- 2gen Osten gerichtet, gen Osten gewandt
- 3aus dem Osten kommend
- 4die Staaten Osteuropas und Asiens betreffend, zu diesen Staaten gehörig, aus diesen Staaten stammend
- 5charakteristisch für die Staaten in Osteuropa und Asien und für ihre Bewohner
- 6zu den sozialistischen Staaten in Osteuropa und Asien, vor allem zu den Ostblockstaaten gehörig
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: sötlich,ösltich,össtlich,östilch,östlcih,östlicch,östlichh,östlihc,östllich,östtlich,ötslich
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of östlich - 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 "östlich"?
What does "östlich" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "östlich"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “östlich”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is Ö-S-T-L-I-C-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈœstlɪç] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “östliche” - see the side-by-side comparison. östlich vs östliche
- 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.