zijn

[zɛi̯n]

/[zɛi̯n]/ verb

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

The verdict

“zijn” is uncommon German (frequency #99,383 among 1,996 “Z” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,383
frequency rank, German
1,996
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - existieren, sein, es geben

Corpus desk

Index DE-zijn · zijn · German

zijn · rank #99,383 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,383
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,996
  • PHOTO-FINISH Zinssätzen

Nearest frequency peer: Zinssätzen (+1 rank slots)

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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „zijn“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „zijn“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for zijn
PropertyValue
Headwordzijn
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[zɛi̯n]
Letters4
Frequency rank#99,383
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „zijn“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.zijnfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Zinssätzen“ (#99,384), „Zielscheiben“ (#99,381), „Zionist“ (#99,385). Unter 1,996 „Z“-Lemmata liegt „zijn“ bei #99,383. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

zijn is uncommon German at frequency #99,383 among 1,996 “Z” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [zɛi̯n]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

zijn has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is zijn, spelled Z-I-J-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    existieren, sein, es geben
  2. 2
    Copula sein
  3. 3
    Hilfsverb für passiv Perfekt sein worden
  4. 4
    Hilfstverb für ergativ Perfekt sein

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how zijn appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Er is koffie.
  2. Hij is een soldaat

Synonyms

wezen

This word in other languages

be(English)

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 "zijn"?
"zijn" is spelled Z-I-J-N. The IPA pronunciation is [zɛi̯n].
What does "zijn" mean?
As a verb, "zijn" means: existieren, sein, es geben
How do you pronounce "zijn"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zijn" is [zɛi̯n]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "zijn" come from?
"zijn" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "zijn", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Wutz#99,356alam#99,441Alts#99,450ansa#99,467

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list