Timbuktu
[tɪmˈbʊktu]
The verdict
“Timbuktu” is uncommon German (frequency #67,787 among 35,386 “T” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,787
- frequency rank, German
- 35,386
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - deutsche Bezeichnung der Stadt Tombouctou in Mali
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Timbuktu |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | [tɪmˈbʊktu] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #67,787 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Timbuktu” sits in German frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Timbuktu is uncommon German at frequency #67,787 among 35,386 “T” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed [tɪmˈbʊktu]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "deutsche Bezeichnung der Stadt Tombouctou in Mali".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Timbuktu, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Timbuktu, spelled T-I-M-B-U-K-T-U.
Definition
- 1deutsche Bezeichnung der Stadt Tombouctou in Mali
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
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Using “Timbuktu”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is T-I-M-B-U-K-T-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [tɪmˈbʊktu] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Other uncommon German words near this rank
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.