Pathos
[ˈpaːtɔs]
The verdict
“Pathos” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #24,066 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #24,066
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - eine leidenschaftliche Ergriffenheit oder ein leidenschaftliches Verhalten
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 | Pathos |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈpaːtɔs] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #24,066 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Pathos” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Pathos is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈpaːtɔs]. Corpus data places it at rank #24,066 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Pathos, with forms such as "apthos", "pahtos", and "pathhos". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Python", "patron", "path", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Pathos, spelled P-A-T-H-O-S.
Definition
- 1eine leidenschaftliche Ergriffenheit oder ein leidenschaftliches Verhalten
- 2(übertriebener) Gefühlsausdruck
- 3erhabene Feierlichkeit
- 4Überzeugung durch rednerische Gewalt und emotionalen Appell
- 5Krankheit oder ein krankhafter Trieb
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: apthos,pahtos,pathhos,pathoss,pathso,patohs,patthos,ppathos,ptahos
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Pathos - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "Pathos"?
What does "Pathos" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Pathos”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is P-A-T-H-O-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈpaːtɔs] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Python” - see the side-by-side comparison. Pathos vs Python
- 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.