ppm

[peːpeːˈʔɛm]

/[peːpeːˈʔɛm]/ abbrev

The verdict

“ppm” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #40,761) as an abbreviation. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#40,761
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mengeneinheit/Quotient, die die Konzentration eines Stoffs in einem anderen Stoff angibt; für Englisch parts per million, für Anzahl Teilchen in einer Million Teilchen; 1 ppm = 0,001 ‰ = 0,0001 %; ...

Corpus desk

Index DE-ppm · ppm · German

ppm · rank #40,761 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,761
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH postuliert

Nearest frequency peer: postuliert (-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.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „ppm“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „ppm“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

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).

ppm vs PS
0% similar
ppm vs Pr
0% similar
ppm vs PV
0% similar

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

Key facts for ppm
PropertyValue
Headwordppm
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAbbreviation
IPA[peːpeːˈʔɛm]
Letters3
Frequency rank#40,761
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „ppm“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.ppmliegt auf dieser Marke:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „postuliert“ (#40,760), „Prada“ (#40,762), „Polizeigewerkschaft“ (#40,759). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „ppm“ bei #40,761. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ppm is neighbouring look-alikes ("PS", "Pr", …), not just typos; it is anabbreviation pronounced [peːpeːˈʔɛm]. Frequency #40,761 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Gloss: "Mengeneinheit/Quotient, die die Konzentration eines Stoffs in einem anderen Stoff angibt; für Englisch parts per million, für Anzahl Teilchen in einer Million Teilchen; 1 ppm = 0,001 ‰ = 0,0001 %; ...".

ppm has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PS", "Pr", "PV", and more, 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, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is ppm, spelled P-P-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mengeneinheit/Quotient, die die Konzentration eines Stoffs in einem anderen Stoff angibt; für Englisch parts per million, für Anzahl Teilchen in einer Million Teilchen; 1 ppm = 0,001 ‰ = 0,0001 %; Veranschaulichung: 1 ppm = etwa 5 Wassertropfen (á 0,05 ml) auf eine Badewanne mit Wasser (á 250 l)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Im Jahr 2001 schätzte der Weltklimarat (IPCC), dass die CO₂-Konzentration in der Atmosphäre vor der industriellen Ära mehrere tausend Jahre lang bei 280 Millionstel (ppm) gelegen hatte. Bis 1999 war sie auf 367 ppm angestiegen, so der IPCC.“
  2. „Die Zunahme der CO₂-Konzentration in der Atmosphäre seit Beginn der industriellen Entwicklung (etwa 1850) von 290 ppm (ppm) auf jetzt etwa 360 ppm ist zum Teil durch Verwendung fossiler Brennstoffe (Kohle, Erdöl, Erdgas) erklärbar.“

This word in other languages

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 "ppm"?
"ppm" is spelled P-P-M. The IPA pronunciation is [peːpeːˈʔɛm].
What does "ppm" mean?
As an abbreviation, "ppm" means: Mengeneinheit/Quotient, die die Konzentration eines Stoffs in einem anderen Stoff angibt; für Englisch parts per million, für Anzahl Teilchen in einer Million Teilchen; 1 ppm = 0,001 ‰ = 0,0001 %; ...
What words are commonly confused with "ppm"?
"ppm" is commonly confused with "PS", "Pr", "PV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ppm"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ppm" is [peːpeːˈʔɛm]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ppm" come from?
"ppm" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "ppm", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list