zuerst
[t͡suˈʔeːɐ̯st]
The verdict
“zuerst” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #945 in German word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #945
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - als Erstes
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | zuerst |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | [t͡suˈʔeːɐ̯st] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #945 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “zuerst” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for zuerst is 6 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [t͡suˈʔeːɐ̯st]. Corpus data places it at rank #945 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for zuerst, with forms such as "uzerst", "zeurst", and "zuerrst". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "zumeist", "ziert", "zerrt", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is zuerst, spelled Z-U-E-R-S-T.
Definition
- 1als Erstes
- 2zu Beginn, in der Anfangszeit
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: uzerst,zeurst,zuerrst,zuersst,zuerstt,zuerts,zuesrt,zurest,zzuerst
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of zuerst - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "zuerst"?
What does "zuerst" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "zuerst"?
How do you pronounce "zuerst"?
What language does "zuerst" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “zuerst”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is Z-U-E-R-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [t͡suˈʔeːɐ̯st] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “zumeist” - see the side-by-side comparison. zuerst vs zumeist
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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.