rotten

/[ˈʁɔtn̩]/ verb

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#34,340

in German word usage

Misspellings

5

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

rotten is aGermanverb. It means: faulen, verfallen Pronounced [ˈʁɔtn̩]. Often confused with route and Rouen.

Key facts for rotten
PropertyValue
Headwordrotten
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʁɔtn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#34,340
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of rotten in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for rotten is 6 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʁɔtn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #34,340 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 5 documented wrong-spelling variants for rotten, with forms such as "rotetn", "rottenn", and "rottne". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "route", "Rouen", "Router", 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 spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is rotten, spelled R-O-T-T-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    faulen, verfallen
  2. 2
    eine Rotte bilden

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: rotetn,rottenn,rottne,rrotten,rtoten

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for rotten

Misspelling Variants of "rotten"

rotetn6rottenn7rottne6rrotten7rtoten6
Misspelling Variants of "rotten"

Frequency rank: #34,340 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rotten"?
"rotten" is spelled R-O-T-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʁɔtn̩].
What does "rotten" mean?
As a verb, "rotten" means: faulen, verfallen
What words are commonly confused with "rotten"?
"rotten" is commonly confused with "route", "Rouen", "Router". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rotten"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rotten" is [ˈʁɔtn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rotten" come from?
"rotten" 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.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.