witness

[ˈwɪtnəs]

/[ˈwɪtnəs]/ noun

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

The verdict

“witness” is uncommon German (frequency #91,159 among 38,697 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#91,159
frequency rank, German
38,697
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - der Zeuge, die Zeugin

Key facts for witness
PropertyValue
Headwordwitness
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈwɪtnəs]
Letters7
Frequency rank#91,159
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “witness” 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). witness lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

witness is uncommon German at frequency #91,159 among 38,697 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈwɪtnəs]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

witness has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is witness, spelled W-I-T-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    der Zeuge, die Zeugin
  2. 2
    Trauzeuge
  3. 3
    Zeugnis
  4. 4
    Bekenntnis

Synonyms

evidence

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 "witness"?
"witness" is spelled W-I-T-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈwɪtnəs].
What does "witness" mean?
As a noun, "witness" means: der Zeuge, die Zeugin
How do you pronounce "witness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "witness" is [ˈwɪtnəs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "witness" come from?
"witness" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “witness”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is W-I-T-N-E-S-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈwɪtnəs] (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.

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

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