Zweitsprache

[ˈt͡svaɪ̯tˌʃpʁaːxə]

/[ˈt͡svaɪ̯tˌʃpʁaːxə]/ noun

The verdict

“Zweitsprache” is uncommon German (frequency #59,374 among 1,996 “Z” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,374
frequency rank, German
1,996
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sprache, die man nach der Muttersprache, seiner Erstsprache, lernt

Corpus desk

Index DE-zweitsprache · Zweitsprache · German

Zweitsprache · rank #59,374 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,374
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,996
  • PHOTO-FINISH Zwangsprostit…

Nearest frequency peer: Zwangsprostitution (-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 „Zweitsprache“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Zweitsprache
PropertyValue
HeadwordZweitsprache
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈt͡svaɪ̯tˌʃpʁaːxə]
Letters12
Frequency rank#59,374
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Zweitsprache“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Zweitsprachefällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Zwangsprostitution“ (#59,373), „Zwerchfell“ (#59,375), „zustimmte“ (#59,372). Unter 1,996 „Z“-Lemmata liegt „Zweitsprache“ bei #59,374. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Zweitsprache is uncommon German at frequency #59,374 among 1,996 “Z” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈt͡svaɪ̯tˌʃpʁaːxə]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sprache, die man nach der Muttersprache, seiner Erstsprache, lernt".

Zero misspellings are on record for Zweitsprache in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Zweitsprache, spelled Z-W-E-I-T-S-P-R-A-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sprache, die man nach der Muttersprache, seiner Erstsprache, lernt

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Meine Zweitsprache war Latein.
  2. „Mit »Zweitsprache« (L2) ist die Verkehrssprache in der außerfamiliären Umgebung, die nicht der Erstsprache entspricht, gemeint.“

Synonyms

L2

Antonyms

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 "Zweitsprache"?
"Zweitsprache" is spelled Z-W-E-I-T-S-P-R-A-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈt͡svaɪ̯tˌʃpʁaːxə].
What does "Zweitsprache" mean?
As a noun, "Zweitsprache" means: Sprache, die man nach der Muttersprache, seiner Erstsprache, lernt
How do you pronounce "Zweitsprache"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Zweitsprache" is [ˈt͡svaɪ̯tˌʃpʁaːxə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Zweitsprache" come from?
"Zweitsprache" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "Zweitsprache", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list