Petersen
[ˈpeːtɐsn̩]
The verdict
“Petersen” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #14,892 in German word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #14,892
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Petersen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | [ˈpeːtɐsn̩] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,892 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Petersen” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Petersen is 8 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈpeːtɐsn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #14,892 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "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
- 1deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname
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.
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"?
What does "Petersen" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Petersen"?
How do you pronounce "Petersen"?
What language does "Petersen" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Petersen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is P-E-T-E-R-S-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈpeːtɐsn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Peters” - see the side-by-side comparison. Petersen vs Peters
- 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.