Pessimismus
[pɛsiˈmɪsmʊs]
The verdict
“Pessimismus” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #41,387 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #41,387
- frequency rank, German
- 11
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - eine Lehre, nach der die existierende Welt als die schlechteste aller möglichen Welten interpretiert wird
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Pessimismus |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [pɛsiˈmɪsmʊs] |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #41,387 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Pessimismus” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Pessimismus is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [pɛsiˈmɪsmʊs]. Corpus data places it at rank #41,387 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for Pessimismus, with forms such as "epssimismus", "pesimismus", and "pesismismus". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Pessimismus, spelled P-E-S-S-I-M-I-S-M-U-S.
Definition
- 1eine Lehre, nach der die existierende Welt als die schlechteste aller möglichen Welten interpretiert wird
- 2eine verneinende Lebensauffassung, die mit Hoffnungslosigkeit, Schwarzseherei und gedrückter Stimmung einhergeht
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: epssimismus,pesimismus,pesismismus,pessiimsmus,pessimimsus,pessimismmus,pessimismsu,pessimismuss,pessimissmus,pessimisums,pessimmismus,pessimsimus,pessmiismus,peßimismus,ppessimismus,psesimismus
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Pessimismus - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "Pessimismus"?
What does "Pessimismus" mean?
What are common misspellings of "Pessimismus"?
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Using “Pessimismus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is P-E-S-S-I-M-I-S-M-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [pɛsiˈmɪsmʊs] (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
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.