Zeitgeist

/[ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡaɪ̯st]/ noun

Letters

9 characters

Frequency Rank

#15,273

in German word usage

Misspellings

14

tracked variants

Confusables

2

similar word pairs

Zeitgeist is aGermannoun. It means: verbreitetes Gedankengut einer Generation oder Epoche; die Einstellung der meisten Leute einer bestimmten Gesellschaft zu einer bestimmten Zeit Pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡaɪ̯st]. Often confused with zeitweise and Zeitreise.

Key facts for Zeitgeist
PropertyValue
HeadwordZeitgeist
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡaɪ̯st]
Letters9
Frequency rank#15,273
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Zeitgeist is 9 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡaɪ̯st]. Corpus data places it at rank #15,273 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "verbreitetes Gedankengut einer Generation oder Epoche; die Einstellung der meisten Leute einer bestimmten Gesellschaft zu einer bestimmten Zeit".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 14 documented wrong-spelling variants for Zeitgeist, with forms such as "ezitgeist", "zeigteist", and "zeitegist". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "zeitweise", "Zeitreise", 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 Zeitgeist, spelled Z-E-I-T-G-E-I-S-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    verbreitetes Gedankengut einer Generation oder Epoche; die Einstellung der meisten Leute einer bestimmten Gesellschaft zu einer bestimmten Zeit

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ezitgeist,zeigteist,zeitegist,zeitgeisst,zeitgeistt,zeitgeits,zeitgesit,zeitggeist,zeitgiest,zeittgeist,zetigeist,zietgeist,zietgiest,zzeitgeist

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Zeitgeist

Misspelling Variants of "Zeitgeist"

ezitgeist9zeigteist9zeitegist9zeitgeisst10zeitgeistt10zeitgeits9zeitgesit9zeitggeist10
Misspelling Variants of "Zeitgeist"

Frequency rank: #15,273 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Zeitgeist"?
"Zeitgeist" is spelled Z-E-I-T-G-E-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡaɪ̯st].
What does "Zeitgeist" mean?
As a noun, "Zeitgeist" means: verbreitetes Gedankengut einer Generation oder Epoche; die Einstellung der meisten Leute einer bestimmten Gesellschaft zu einer bestimmten Zeit
What words are commonly confused with "Zeitgeist"?
"Zeitgeist" is commonly confused with "zeitweise", "Zeitreise". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Zeitgeist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Zeitgeist" is [ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡaɪ̯st]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Zeitgeist" come from?
"Zeitgeist" 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 Z in our German index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.