selten

/[ˈzɛltn̩]/ adj

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#911

in German word usage

Misspellings

9

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

selten is anGermanadj. It means: nur in geringen Mengen vorhanden Pronounced [ˈzɛltn̩]. It ranks #911 in German word frequency. Often confused with seven and sollen.

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

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for selten is 6 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈzɛltn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #911 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for selten, with forms such as "eslten", "seletn", and "sellten". 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, "seven", "sollen", "setzen", 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 selten, spelled S-E-L-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
    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

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eslten,seletn,sellten,seltenn,seltne,seltten,setlen,sleten,sselten

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for selten

Misspelling Variants of "selten"

eslten6seletn6sellten7seltenn7seltne6seltten7setlen6sleten6
Misspelling Variants of "selten"

Frequency rank: #911 in German

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 adj, "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 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 S 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.