perverse

Name: perverse, German Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[pɛʁˈvɛʁzə]

/[pɛʁˈvɛʁzə]/ adj

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“perverse” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #22,848 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.

#22,848
frequency rank, German: 8
letters: 12
tracked misspellings: 3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

perverse vs perversen

89% similar

perverse vs perverser

89% similar

perverse vs pervers

88% similar

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

Key facts for perverse
Property	Value
Headword	perverse
Language	German
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	[pɛʁˈvɛʁzə]
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#22,848
Misspellings tracked	12
Confusable pairs	3
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “perverse” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). perverse lands here:

#22,848

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for perverse is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [pɛʁˈvɛʁzə]. Corpus data places it at rank #22,848 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for perverse, with forms such as "eprverse", "perevrse", and "perrverse". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "perversen", "perverser", "pervers", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is perverse, spelled P-E-R-V-E-R-S-E.

Definition

1
Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers
2
Akkusativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers
3
Nominativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers
4
Akkusativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers
5
Nominativ Singular alle Genera der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers
6
Akkusativ Singular Femininum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers
7
Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers
8
Nominativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers
9
Akkusativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eprverse,perevrse,perrverse,perveres,perverrse,perversse,pervesre,pervrese,pervverse,pevrerse,pperverse,preverse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "perverse"

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 "perverse"?

"perverse" is spelled P-E-R-V-E-R-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is [pɛʁˈvɛʁzə].

What does "perverse" mean?

As an adjective, "perverse" means: Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs pervers

What words are commonly confused with "perverse"?

"perverse" is commonly confused with "perversen", "perverser", "pervers". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "perverse"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perverse" is [pɛʁˈvɛʁzə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "perverse" come from?

"perverse" 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.

Using “perverse”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct German spelling is P-E-R-V-E-R-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as [pɛʁˈvɛʁzə] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “perversen” - see the side-by-side comparison. perverse vs perversen
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.