vain
[veɪn]
The verdict
“vain” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - eitel, eingebildet, aufgeblasen
Corpus desk
Index DE-vain · vain · German
vain · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "V" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | vain |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [veɪn] |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „vain“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
vain is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [veɪn]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for vain in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is vain, spelled V-A-I-N.
Definition
- 1eitel, eingebildet, aufgeblasen
- 2vergeblich, nutzlos, fruchtlos, aussichtslos
- 3sinnlos, töricht, leer
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how vain appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
She was very vain about her size zero figure.
A person who is vain [is] a 'can’t-walk-past-a-mirror-without-looking' sort of person.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
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.