sad

[ˈsad]

/[ˈsad]/ adv

The verdict

“sad” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #23,689) as an adverb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#23,689
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - in diesem Augenblick; jetzt, nun

Corpus desk

Index DE-sad · sad · German

sad · rank #23,689 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,689
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sachlage

Nearest frequency peer: Sachlage (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “sad”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “sad” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

sad vs so
33% similar
sad vs Sc
0% similar
sad vs SV
0% similar

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

Key facts for sad
PropertyValue
Headwordsad
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[ˈsad]
Letters3
Frequency rank#23,689
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “sad” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.sadliegt hier:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „Sachlage“ (#23,688), „Sammy“ (#23,690), „Rückruf“ (#23,687). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for sad is neighbouring look-alikes ("so", "Sc", …), not just typos; it is anadverb pronounced [ˈsad]. Frequency #23,689 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Gloss: "in diesem Augenblick; jetzt, nun".

No generated misspelling entries exist for sad in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "Sc", "SV", 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 its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is sad, spelled S-A-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    in diesem Augenblick; jetzt, nun

Synonyms

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 "sad"?
"sad" is spelled S-A-D. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈsad].
What does "sad" mean?
As an adverb, "sad" means: in diesem Augenblick; jetzt, nun
What words are commonly confused with "sad"?
"sad" is commonly confused with "so", "Sc", "SV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sad"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sad" is [ˈsad]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sad" come from?
"sad" 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 "sad", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

What to do next

You've looked up "sad". Here's where to go from here.

  • "sad" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "so". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #23,689 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list