Petersen

[ˈpeːtɐsn̩]

/[ˈpeːtɐsn̩]/ name

The verdict

“Petersen” has 12 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #14,892. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,892
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname

Corpus desk

Index DE-petersen · Petersen · German

Petersen · rank #14,892 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,892
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH perle

Nearest frequency peer: perle (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Petersen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Petersen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

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).

Petersen vs Peters
75% similar
Petersen vs perversen
67% similar

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

Key facts for Petersen
PropertyValue
HeadwordPetersen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechProper noun
IPA[ˈpeːtɐsn̩]
Letters8
Frequency rank#14,892
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Petersen“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Petersenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „perle“ (#14,891), „Pfannkuchen“ (#14,893), „passender“ (#14,890). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „Petersen“ bei #14,892. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around Petersen (IPA [ˈpeːtɐsn̩]), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #14,892 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Petersen, with forms such as "eptersen", "peetrsen", and "peteresn". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Peters", "perversen", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

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 Petersen, spelled P-E-T-E-R-S-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Frau Petersen ist ein Genie im Verkauf.
  2. Herr Petersen wollte uns kein Interview geben.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eptersen
  • peetrsen
  • peteresn
  • peterrsen
  • petersenn
  • petersne
  • peterssen
  • petesren
  • petresen
  • pettersen
  • ppetersen
  • pteersen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Petersen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eptersen2peetrsen2peteresn2peterrsen1petersenn1petersne2peterssen1petesren2
Edit distance from "Petersen"

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 "Petersen"?
"Petersen" is spelled P-E-T-E-R-S-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈpeːtɐsn̩].
What does "Petersen" mean?
As a proper noun, "Petersen" means: deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname
What words are commonly confused with "Petersen"?
"Petersen" is commonly confused with "Peters", "perversen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Petersen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Petersen" is [ˈpeːtɐsn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Petersen" come from?
"Petersen" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Petersen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list