positiv

[ˈpoːzitiːf]

/[ˈpoːzitiːf]/ adj

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

The verdict

“positiv” has 10 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #1,523. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,523
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - erfreulich, erwünscht, wünschenswert; gut

Corpus desk

Index DE-positiv · positiv · German

positiv · rank #1,523 · 10 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,523
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH Osten

Nearest frequency peer: Osten (-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 „positiv“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „positiv“ 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).

positiv vs Positive
75% similar
positiv vs Positiven
67% similar
positiv vs positives
78% similar

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

Key facts for positiv
PropertyValue
Headwordpositiv
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈpoːzitiːf]
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,523
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „positiv“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).positivliegt 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: „Osten“ (#1,522), „schützen“ (#1,524), „Mund“ (#1,521). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „positiv“ bei #1,523. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around positiv (IPA [ˈpoːzitiːf]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,523 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for positiv, with forms such as "opsitiv", "poistiv", and "posiitv". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Positive", "Positiven", "positives", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is positiv, spelled P-O-S-I-T-I-V.

Definition

  1. 1
    erfreulich, erwünscht, wünschenswert; gut
  2. 2
    einen getesteten Sachverhalt bestätigend (manchmal unerfreulich, unerwünscht bis lebensbedrohlich)
  3. 3
    Zustimmung zum Ausdruck bringend; etwas bejahend
  4. 4
    größer als Null
  5. 5
    mit Elektronenmangel oder -bedarf
  6. 6
    im Gegensatz zum Negativ nicht seitenverkehrt und in Helligkeit und Farbton mit dem Aufgenommenen übereinstimmend
  7. 7
    mit Sicherheit, ohne Zweifel bestehend, deutlich

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Bewerber machte einen positiven Eindruck.
  2. Sie freut sich über die positive Bewertung ihrer Arbeit.

Synonyms

gutschönsuperokay

Antonyms

negativbösedesaströsmangelhaftschlechtschlimmschrecklichschwachunerwünschtungünstigablehnendmissbilligendverneinend

This word in other languages

positive(English)positivo(Español)positif(Français)positivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opsitiv
  • poistiv
  • posiitv
  • positivv
  • posittiv
  • positvi
  • possitiv
  • postiiv
  • ppositiv
  • psoitiv

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

opsitiv2poistiv2posiitv2positivv1posittiv1positvi2possitiv1postiiv2
Edit distance from "positiv"

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 "positiv"?
"positiv" is spelled P-O-S-I-T-I-V. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈpoːzitiːf].
What does "positiv" mean?
As an adjective, "positiv" means: erfreulich, erwünscht, wünschenswert; gut
What words are commonly confused with "positiv"?
"positiv" is commonly confused with "Positive", "Positiven", "positives". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "positiv"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "positiv" is [ˈpoːzitiːf]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "positiv" come from?
"positiv" 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 "positiv", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Verkehr#1,527jährige#1,516Auftrag#1,539Ausland#1,540

Similar misspelling depth

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

längst10 variantserinnern10 variantsdiesmal10 variantseinzelne10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list