Pfahl

[p͡faːl]

/[p͡faːl]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Pfahl” has 8 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #31,728. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,728
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - bearbeitetes, schmales, aufrecht stehendes säulenartiges Bauteil, zum Beispiel aus Holz, Metall oder Stein

Corpus desk

Index DE-pfahl · Pfahl · German

Pfahl · rank #31,728 · 8 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,728
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pflanzenarten

Nearest frequency peer: Pflanzenarten (+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 „Pfahl“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Pfahl“ 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).

Pfahl vs Pohl
60% similar
Pfahl vs Pfau
60% similar
Pfahl vs Pfalz
60% similar

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

Key facts for Pfahl
PropertyValue
HeadwordPfahl
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[p͡faːl]
Letters5
Frequency rank#31,728
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Pfahl“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Pfahlliegt 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: „Pflanzenarten“ (#31,729), „Pauschalen“ (#31,726), „Pflegepersonal“ (#31,730). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „Pfahl“ bei #31,728. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Pfahl (IPA [p͡faːl]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,728 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Pfahl, with forms such as "fpahl", "pafhl", and "pfahhl". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "Pohl", "Pfau", "Pfalz", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is Pfahl, spelled P-F-A-H-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    bearbeitetes, schmales, aufrecht stehendes säulenartiges Bauteil, zum Beispiel aus Holz, Metall oder Stein
  2. 2
    senkrechter Streifen, in der Mitte eines Wappenschildes, von abweichender Farbe

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sie fesselten ihn an den Pfahl und verbanden ihm die Augen.
  2. „Dort pflegte er seine Haifischleine auszulegen und sie an einem Pfahl zu vertäuen, den er in den Sand getrieben hatte.“

Synonyms

MastPalisadePfeilerPflockPfostenStangeSteherStempenStickelPilotePoller

This word in other languages

post(English)estaca(Español)pieu(Français)pilar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fpahl
  • pafhl
  • pfahhl
  • pfahll
  • pfalh
  • pffahl
  • pfhal
  • ppfahl

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

fpahl2pafhl2pfahhl1pfahll1pfalh2pffahl1pfhal2ppfahl1
Edit distance from "Pfahl"

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 "Pfahl"?
"Pfahl" is spelled P-F-A-H-L. The IPA pronunciation is [p͡faːl].
What does "Pfahl" mean?
As a noun, "Pfahl" means: bearbeitetes, schmales, aufrecht stehendes säulenartiges Bauteil, zum Beispiel aus Holz, Metall oder Stein
What words are commonly confused with "Pfahl"?
"Pfahl" is commonly confused with "Pohl", "Pfau", "Pfalz". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Pfahl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Pfahl" is [p͡faːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Pfahl" come from?
"Pfahl" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "Pfahl", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Putze#31,740reese#31,750Rocks#31,758rohen#31,759

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Overall8 variantsNikita8 variantsMovies8 variantstranny8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list