Spam

[spɛm]

/[spɛm]/ noun

The verdict

“Spam” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #9,454 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#9,454
frequency rank, German
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Gesamtheit aller unerwünschter, oft gehäuft abgesendeter Nachrichten (meist für Werbezwecke, ohne Themenbezug)

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Spam vs SPD
25% similar
Spam vs SPÖ
25% similar
Spam vs sta
25% similar

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

Key facts for Spam
PropertyValue
HeadwordSpam
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[spɛm]
Letters4
Frequency rank#9,454
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Spam” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Spam lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Spam is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [spɛm]. Corpus data places it at rank #9,454 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Spam, with forms such as "psam", "sapm", and "spamm". 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, "SPD", "SPÖ", "sta", 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 is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is Spam, spelled S-P-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Gesamtheit aller unerwünschter, oft gehäuft abgesendeter Nachrichten (meist für Werbezwecke, ohne Themenbezug)
  2. 2
    unerwünschte, oft gehäuft abgesendete Nachricht (meist für Werbezwecke, ohne Themenbezug)

Synonyms

E-MüllWerbemüllJunkmailSpammail

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: psam,sapm,spamm,spma,sppam,sspam

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Spam - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

psam2sapm2spamm1spma2sppam1sspam1
Edit distance from "Spam"

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 "Spam"?
"Spam" is spelled S-P-A-M. The IPA pronunciation is [spɛm].
What does "Spam" mean?
As a noun, "Spam" means: Gesamtheit aller unerwünschter, oft gehäuft abgesendeter Nachrichten (meist für Werbezwecke, ohne Themenbezug)
What words are commonly confused with "Spam"?
"Spam" is commonly confused with "SPD", "SPÖ", "sta". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Spam"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Spam" is [spɛm]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Spam" come from?
"Spam" 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.

Using “Spam”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is S-P-A-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [spɛm] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “SPD” - see the side-by-side comparison. Spam vs SPD
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list