selten

[ˈzɛltn̩]

/[ˈzɛltn̩]/ adj

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

The verdict

“selten” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #911. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#911
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nur in geringen Mengen vorhanden

Corpus desk

Index DE-selten · selten · German

selten · rank #911 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #911
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Schüler

Nearest frequency peer: Schüler (-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 „selten“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „selten“ 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).

selten vs seven
67% similar
selten vs sollen
67% similar
selten vs setzen
67% similar

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

Key facts for selten
PropertyValue
Headwordselten
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈzɛltn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#911
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „selten“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).seltenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Schüler“ (#910), „sieben“ (#912), „reicht“ (#909). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „selten“ bei #911. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around selten (IPA [ˈzɛltn̩]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #911 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for selten, with forms such as "eslten", "seletn", and "sellten". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "seven", "sollen", "setzen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is selten, spelled S-E-L-T-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    nur in geringen Mengen vorhanden
  2. 2
    nicht häufig passierend; die Wiederholungen haben eine große Zeitspanne
  3. 3
    (von Eigenschaften) in einer Ausprägung, wie sie nur bei wenigen Exemplaren vorkommt

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mondgestein ist auf der Erde ein seltenes Material.
  2. Der Mann ging selten zur Kirche.

Antonyms

häufigzahlreichhäufigoft

This word in other languages

rare(English)raro(Español)rare(Français)raro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eslten
  • seletn
  • sellten
  • seltenn
  • seltne
  • seltten
  • setlen
  • sleten
  • sselten

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

eslten2seletn2sellten1seltenn1seltne2seltten1setlen2sleten2
Edit distance from "selten"

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 "selten"?
"selten" is spelled S-E-L-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈzɛltn̩].
What does "selten" mean?
As an adjective, "selten" means: nur in geringen Mengen vorhanden
What words are commonly confused with "selten"?
"selten" is commonly confused with "seven", "sollen", "setzen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "selten"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "selten" is [ˈzɛltn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "selten" come from?
"selten" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "selten", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sieben#912reicht#909Martin#907Hälfte#905

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Ahnung9 variantsBürger9 variantsRechte9 variantsPunkte9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list