Placebo

[plaˈt͡seːbo]

/[plaˈt͡seːbo]/ noun

The verdict

“Placebo” has 10 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #27,000. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,000
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Medikament, das keinen Wirkstoff enthält, aber einem existierenden Medikament vom Aussehen her ähnelt und einen Placeboeffekt, sprich eine suggestive Wirkung, erzielen kann

Corpus desk

Index DE-placebo · Placebo · German

Placebo · rank #27,000 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,000
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH pisst

Nearest frequency peer: pisst (-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 „Placebo“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Placebo“ 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).

Placebo vs places
57% similar
Placebo vs place
57% similar

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

Key facts for Placebo
PropertyValue
HeadwordPlacebo
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[plaˈt͡seːbo]
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,000
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Placebo“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Placeboliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „pisst“ (#26,999), „Players“ (#27,001), „poetische“ (#27,002). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „Placebo“ bei #27,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around Placebo (IPA [plaˈt͡seːbo]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,000 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Medikament, das keinen Wirkstoff enthält, aber einem existierenden Medikament vom Aussehen her ähnelt und einen Placeboeffekt, sprich eine suggestive Wirkung, erzielen kann".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for Placebo, with forms such as "lpacebo", "palcebo", and "placbeo". 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 also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "places", "place", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Placebo, spelled P-L-A-C-E-B-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Medikament, das keinen Wirkstoff enthält, aber einem existierenden Medikament vom Aussehen her ähnelt und einen Placeboeffekt, sprich eine suggestive Wirkung, erzielen kann

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ein Placebo dient einerseits als Kontrollmittel bei der Erforschung von Arzneimitteln, andererseits als Suggestiv-Therapeutikum.
  2. [Covid-19-Impfstoff:] „Bei dem Biontech-Test wurde dem einen Teil der Versuchsgruppe der richtige Impfstoff verabreicht, dem anderen Teil nur ein Placebo. Fast alle Corona-Infektionen fanden danach in der Placebo-Gruppe statt.“

Synonyms

ScheinarzneiScheinmedikament

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpacebo
  • palcebo
  • placbeo
  • placcebo
  • placebbo
  • placeob
  • plaecbo
  • plcaebo
  • pllacebo
  • pplacebo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

lpacebo2palcebo2placbeo2placcebo1placebbo1placeob2plaecbo2plcaebo2
Edit distance from "Placebo"

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 "Placebo"?
"Placebo" is spelled P-L-A-C-E-B-O. The IPA pronunciation is [plaˈt͡seːbo].
What does "Placebo" mean?
As a noun, "Placebo" means: Medikament, das keinen Wirkstoff enthält, aber einem existierenden Medikament vom Aussehen her ähnelt und einen Placeboeffekt, sprich eine suggestive Wirkung, erzielen kann
What words are commonly confused with "Placebo"?
"Placebo" is commonly confused with "places", "place". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Placebo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Placebo" is [plaˈt͡seːbo]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Placebo" come from?
"Placebo" 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 "Placebo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list