Pfau

[p͡faʊ̯]

/[p͡faʊ̯]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Pfau” has 5 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #31,215. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,215
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ziervogel mit auffälligem, dekorativem Schwanzgefieder

Corpus desk

Index DE-pfau · Pfau · German

Pfau · rank #31,215 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,215
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pfarreien

Nearest frequency peer: Pfarreien (-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 „Pfau“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Pfau“ 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).

Pfau vs Pu
50% similar
Pfau vs Pia
50% similar
Pfau vs psa
25% similar

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

Key facts for Pfau
PropertyValue
HeadwordPfau
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[p͡faʊ̯]
Letters4
Frequency rank#31,215
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Pfau“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Pfauliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Pfarreien“ (#31,214), „Petersilie“ (#31,213), „Physiotherapie“ (#31,217). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „Pfau“ bei #31,215. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around Pfau (IPA [p͡faʊ̯]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,215 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Pfau, with forms such as "fpau", "pafu", and "pffau". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Pu", "Pia", "psa", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Pfau, spelled P-F-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ziervogel mit auffälligem, dekorativem Schwanzgefieder
  2. 2
    weitere Vögel aus der Gattung Pavo
  3. 3
    ein Sternbild des Südhimmels

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Früher war oft ein gebratener Pfau die Zierde einer fürstlichen Tafel.
  2. „Hinzu kam die gewaltige Menagerie, die er an Bord führte: ein Bulle, zwei Kühe und mehrere Kälber, die König Georg den Tahitianern zum Geschenk machen wollte, außerdem ein Pfau nebst Pfauhenne als Gabe des Earl of Bessborough.“

Synonyms

Pavo cristatus

This word in other languages

peacock(English)pavo real(Español)paon(Français)pavão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fpau
  • pafu
  • pffau
  • pfua
  • ppfau

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Pfau - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

fpau2pafu2pffau1pfua2ppfau1
Edit distance from "Pfau"

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 "Pfau"?
"Pfau" is spelled P-F-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is [p͡faʊ̯].
What does "Pfau" mean?
As a noun, "Pfau" means: Ziervogel mit auffälligem, dekorativem Schwanzgefieder
What words are commonly confused with "Pfau"?
"Pfau" is commonly confused with "Pu", "Pia", "psa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Pfau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Pfau" is [p͡faʊ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Pfau" come from?
"Pfau" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "Pfau", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Puck#31,226rail#31,232Nemo#31,193robe#31,244

Similar misspelling depth

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

Quell5 variantsrüde5 variantsloose5 variantslille5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list