Sphinx

/[sfɪŋks]/ noun

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#40,218

in German word usage

Misspellings

10

tracked variants

Confusables

6

similar word pairs

Sphinx is aGermannoun. It means: Statue eines männlichen Löwen mit einem Menschenkopf beziehungsweise auch einem Kopf des Widders, Falken und Sperbers Pronounced [sfɪŋks]. Often confused with Spin and spring.

Key facts for Sphinx
PropertyValue
HeadwordSphinx
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[sfɪŋks]
Letters6
Frequency rank#40,218
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Sphinx is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [sfɪŋks]. Corpus data places it at rank #40,218 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for Sphinx, with forms such as "pshinx", "shpinx", and "sphhinx". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Spin", "spring", "Sprint", 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 Sphinx, spelled S-P-H-I-N-X, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Statue eines männlichen Löwen mit einem Menschenkopf beziehungsweise auch einem Kopf des Widders, Falken und Sperbers
  2. 2
    bekanntes Bauwerk aus dem Alten Ägypten
  3. 3
    Statue eines geflügelten Löwen mit dem Kopf einer Frau beziehungsweise auch eine Frau mit den Tatzen und Brüsten einer Löwin
  4. 4
    Gattung der Schwärmer, einer Unterart der Schmetterlinge
  5. 5
    Hauskatzenrasse mit nur leichtem Flaum als Fell

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: pshinx,shpinx,sphhinx,sphinnx,sphinxx,sphixn,sphnix,spihnx,spphinx,ssphinx

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Sphinx

Misspelling Variants of "Sphinx"

pshinx6shpinx6sphhinx7sphinnx7sphinxx7sphixn6sphnix6spihnx6
Misspelling Variants of "Sphinx"

Frequency rank: #40,218 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Sphinx"?
"Sphinx" is spelled S-P-H-I-N-X. The IPA pronunciation is [sfɪŋks].
What does "Sphinx" mean?
As a noun, "Sphinx" means: Statue eines männlichen Löwen mit einem Menschenkopf beziehungsweise auch einem Kopf des Widders, Falken und Sperbers
What words are commonly confused with "Sphinx"?
"Sphinx" is commonly confused with "Spin", "spring", "Sprint". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Sphinx"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Sphinx" is [sfɪŋks]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Sphinx" come from?
"Sphinx" 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.