Pein

[paɪ̯n]

/[paɪ̯n]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Pein” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #47,643) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#47,643
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Schmerz, Qual

Corpus desk

Index DE-pein · Pein · German

Pein · rank #47,643 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,643
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH Paule

Nearest frequency peer: Paule (-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.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „Pein“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „Pein“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

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).

Pein vs pi
25% similar
Pein vs per
25% similar
Pein vs pen
50% similar

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

Key facts for Pein
PropertyValue
HeadwordPein
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[paɪ̯n]
Letters4
Frequency rank#47,643
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „Pein“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Peinliegt auf dieser Marke:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Paule“ (#47,642), „Pensum“ (#47,644), „persisch“ (#47,645). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „Pein“ bei #47,643. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Pein is neighbouring look-alikes ("pi", "per", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [paɪ̯n]. Frequency #47,643 among 3,409 “P” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for Pein, with forms such as "epin", "peinn", and "peni". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pi", "per", "pen", 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 to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is Pein, spelled P-E-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Schmerz, Qual
  2. 2
    Folter

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Irgendwann brachte auch die Arbeit keine Linderung mehr, sondern nur neue Pein.“
  2. „Den Forschungspionierinnen wurde klar: Psychische Pein hat ebenso wie physische Fehlbelastung, schlechte Ernährung oder Gifte einen zersetzenden Einfluss auf die Schutzfunktion für die Gene.“

Synonyms

AlgesieLeidWehFolterungMarterMisshandlungPeinigungQualStrapazeTortur

Antonyms

AnalgesieGesundheitWohlbefinden

This word in other languages

pain(English)pena(Español)douleur(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • epin
  • peinn
  • peni
  • ppein

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

epin2peinn1peni2ppein1
Edit distance from "Pein"

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 "Pein"?
"Pein" is spelled P-E-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is [paɪ̯n].
What does "Pein" mean?
As a noun, "Pein" means: Schmerz, Qual
What words are commonly confused with "Pein"?
"Pein" is commonly confused with "pi", "per", "pen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Pein"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Pein" is [paɪ̯n]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Pein" come from?
"Pein" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "Pein", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pars#47,639Plön#47,647prob#47,655Opal#47,621

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list