sévère

[se.vɛʁ]

/[se.vɛʁ]/ adj

The verdict

“sévère” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - streng

Corpus desk

Index DE-severe · sévère · German

sévère · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for sévère
PropertyValue
Headwordsévère
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[se.vɛʁ]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „sévère“ im Deutschen

sévèreliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sévère is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [se.vɛʁ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "streng".

No misspelling variants are generated for sévère in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is sévère, spelled S-É-V-È-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    streng

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sévère"?
"sévère" is spelled S-É-V-È-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is [se.vɛʁ].
What does "sévère" mean?
As an adjective, "sévère" means: streng
How do you pronounce "sévère"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sévère" is [se.vɛʁ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sévère" come from?
"sévère" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list