Referenz

[ʁefəˈʁɛnt͡s]

/[ʁefəˈʁɛnt͡s]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Referenz” has 12 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #14,905. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,905
frequency rank, German
2,984
“R” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Beziehung zwischen einem sprachlichen Ausdruck und dem, was er meint oder bedeutet

Corpus desk

Index DE-referenz · Referenz · German

Referenz · rank #14,905 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,905
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,984
  • PHOTO-FINISH Raumschiff

Nearest frequency peer: Raumschiff (-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 „Referenz“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Referenz“ 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).

Referenz vs Reverend
75% similar
Referenz vs Referenzen
80% similar
Referenz vs Referent
88% similar

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

Key facts for Referenz
PropertyValue
HeadwordReferenz
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ʁefəˈʁɛnt͡s]
Letters8
Frequency rank#14,905
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Referenz“

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

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Raumschiff“ (#14,904), „regnen“ (#14,906), „Radler“ (#14,903). Unter 2,984 „R“-Lemmata liegt „Referenz“ bei #14,905. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around Referenz (IPA [ʁefəˈʁɛnt͡s]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,905 among 2,984 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Referenz, with forms such as "erferenz", "reefrenz", and "refeernz". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Reverend", "Referenzen", "Referent", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Referenz, spelled R-E-F-E-R-E-N-Z.

Definition

  1. 1
    Beziehung zwischen einem sprachlichen Ausdruck und dem, was er meint oder bedeutet
  2. 2
    Teilakt des sogenannten propositionalen Aktes; Bezugnahme des Sprechers mit sprachlichen oder nichtsprachlichen Mitteln auf das, worüber er sprechen will
  3. 3
    Empfehlung als Unterstützung bei einer Bewerbung
  4. 4
    Verweis auf etwas oder jemanden, der als verlässliche Quelle dienen kann

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Name „Konrad Adenauer“ stellt eine Referenz zu einer ganz bestimmten Person her.
  2. Referenz und Proposition sind Teile des propositionalen Aktes.

This word in other languages

reference(English)referencia(Español)référence(Français)referência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erferenz
  • reefrenz
  • refeernz
  • referennz
  • referenzz
  • referezn
  • refernez
  • referrenz
  • refferenz
  • refreenz
  • rfeerenz
  • rreferenz

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

erferenz2reefrenz2refeernz2referennz1referenzz1referezn2refernez2referrenz1
Edit distance from "Referenz"

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 "Referenz"?
"Referenz" is spelled R-E-F-E-R-E-N-Z. The IPA pronunciation is [ʁefəˈʁɛnt͡s].
What does "Referenz" mean?
As a noun, "Referenz" means: Beziehung zwischen einem sprachlichen Ausdruck und dem, was er meint oder bedeutet
What words are commonly confused with "Referenz"?
"Referenz" is commonly confused with "Reverend", "Referenzen", "Referent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Referenz"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Referenz" is [ʁefəˈʁɛnt͡s]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Referenz" come from?
"Referenz" 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 "Referenz", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Pubertät#14,901portrait#14,897Petersen#14,892Schnitte#14,925

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

obgleich12 variantssinnvoller12 variantsMoscheen12 variantslustiges12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list