seltsam
[ˈzɛltzaːm]
The verdict
“seltsam” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #3,994 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #3,994
- frequency rank, German
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - nicht normal; merkwürdig, sonderbar
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | seltsam |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ˈzɛltzaːm] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #3,994 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “seltsam” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for seltsam is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈzɛltzaːm]. Corpus data places it at rank #3,994 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "nicht normal; merkwürdig, sonderbar".
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for seltsam, with forms such as "esltsam", "selltsam", and "selstam". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Sesam", "seltsame", "seltsamen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is seltsam, spelled S-E-L-T-S-A-M.
Definition
- 1nicht normal; merkwürdig, sonderbar
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: esltsam,selltsam,selstam,seltasm,seltsamm,seltsma,seltssam,selttsam,setlsam,sletsam,sseltsam
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of seltsam - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "seltsam"?
What does "seltsam" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "seltsam"?
How do you pronounce "seltsam"?
What language does "seltsam" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “seltsam”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is S-E-L-T-S-A-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈzɛltzaːm] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Sesam” - see the side-by-side comparison. seltsam vs Sesam
- 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.