Penicillin
[penit͡sɪˈliːn]
The verdict
“Penicillin” is uncommon German (frequency #53,148 among 49,534 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #53,148
- frequency rank, German
- 49,534
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - eines der ältesten Antibiotika, hergestellt auf der Basis eines Schimmelpilzes
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Penicillin |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [penit͡sɪˈliːn] |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #53,148 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Penicillin” sits in German frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Penicillin is uncommon German at frequency #53,148 among 49,534 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [penit͡sɪˈliːn]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "eines der ältesten Antibiotika, hergestellt auf der Basis eines Schimmelpilzes".
No misspelling variants are generated for Penicillin in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
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 Penicillin, spelled P-E-N-I-C-I-L-L-I-N.
Definition
- 1eines der ältesten Antibiotika, hergestellt auf der Basis eines Schimmelpilzes
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 "Penicillin"?
What does "Penicillin" mean?
How do you pronounce "Penicillin"?
What language does "Penicillin" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Penicillin”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is P-E-N-I-C-I-L-L-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [penit͡sɪˈliːn] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Other uncommon German words near this rank
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.