Satire

[zaˈtiːʁə]

/[zaˈtiːʁə]/ noun

The verdict

“Satire” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #6,719 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#6,719
frequency rank, German
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - humorvoll kritisierende Schreibweise oder Textart, die in verschiedensten medialen Formen auftritt (Comic, Drama, Essay, Fernsehsendung, Film, Gedicht, Kabarettprogramm, Roman, Rundfunksendung, Web...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Satire vs Sire
67% similar
Satire vs Sätze
50% similar
Satire vs Stirn
67% similar

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

Key facts for Satire
PropertyValue
HeadwordSatire
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[zaˈtiːʁə]
Letters6
Frequency rank#6,719
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Satire” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Satire lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Satire is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [zaˈtiːʁə]. Corpus data places it at rank #6,719 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Satire, with forms such as "astire", "saitre", and "satier". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "Sire", "Sätze", "Stirn", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Satire, spelled S-A-T-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    humorvoll kritisierende Schreibweise oder Textart, die in verschiedensten medialen Formen auftritt (Comic, Drama, Essay, Fernsehsendung, Film, Gedicht, Kabarettprogramm, Roman, Rundfunksendung, Webseite und Ähnliches)
  2. 2
    literarische Gattung römischen Ursprungs
  3. 3
    einzelnes künstlerisches Werk, das von der humorvoll kritisierenden Schreibweise Gebrauch macht oder der Gattung angehört

Synonyms

SpottschriftStachelschriftPasquill

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: astire,saitre,satier,satirre,satrie,sattire,ssatire,staire

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Satire - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

astire2saitre2satier2satirre1satrie2sattire1ssatire1staire2
Edit distance from "Satire"

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 "Satire"?
"Satire" is spelled S-A-T-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is [zaˈtiːʁə].
What does "Satire" mean?
As a noun, "Satire" means: humorvoll kritisierende Schreibweise oder Textart, die in verschiedensten medialen Formen auftritt (Comic, Drama, Essay, Fernsehsendung, Film, Gedicht, Kabarettprogramm, Roman, Rundfunksendung, Web...
What words are commonly confused with "Satire"?
"Satire" is commonly confused with "Sire", "Sätze", "Stirn". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Satire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Satire" is [zaˈtiːʁə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Satire" come from?
"Satire" 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.

Using “Satire”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is S-A-T-I-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [zaˈtiːʁə] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Sire” - see the side-by-side comparison. Satire vs Sire
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list