SMS

[ɛsʔɛmˈʔɛs]

/[ɛsʔɛmˈʔɛs]/ noun

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

The verdict

“SMS” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #4,558) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#4,558
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - eine über das Mobilfunknetz durch den gleichnamigen Dienst versandte Kurznachricht

Corpus desk

Index DE-sms · SMS · German

SMS · rank #4,558 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,558
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Skandal

Nearest frequency peer: Skandal (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “SMS”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “SMS” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

SMS vs so
0% similar
SMS vs SV
33% similar
SMS vs SS
67% similar

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

Key facts for SMS
PropertyValue
HeadwordSMS
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɛsʔɛmˈʔɛs]
Letters3
Frequency rank#4,558
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “SMS” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).SMSliegt hier:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „Skandal“ (#4,557), „sozusagen“ (#4,559), „sieh“ (#4,556). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for SMS is neighbouring look-alikes ("so", "SV", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [ɛsʔɛmˈʔɛs]. Frequency #4,558 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Gloss: "eine über das Mobilfunknetz durch den gleichnamigen Dienst versandte Kurznachricht".

No generated misspelling entries exist for SMS in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SV", "SS", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is SMS, spelled S-M-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    eine über das Mobilfunknetz durch den gleichnamigen Dienst versandte Kurznachricht

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Dabei verrät das SMS natürlich auch, wo in Tirol es wie viel geschneit hat.“
  2. „Das SMS kann einfach als Gedankenstütze im Handy gespeichert bleiben.“

Synonyms

KurzmitteilungKurznachrichtSMS-NachrichtTextnachricht

Antonyms

Podcast

This word in other languages

SMS(English)SMS(Español)SMS(Français)

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 "SMS"?
"SMS" is spelled S-M-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛsʔɛmˈʔɛs].
What does "SMS" mean?
As a noun, "SMS" means: eine über das Mobilfunknetz durch den gleichnamigen Dienst versandte Kurznachricht
What words are commonly confused with "SMS"?
"SMS" is commonly confused with "so", "SV", "SS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "SMS"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "SMS" is [ɛsʔɛmˈʔɛs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "SMS" come from?
"SMS" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "SMS", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Tal#4,564VfB#4,574can#4,597ice#4,620

What to do next

You've looked up "SMS". Here's where to go from here.

  • "SMS" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "so". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #4,558 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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