germanium

Name: germanium, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/d͡ʒɚˈmeɪni.əm/

//d͡ʒɚˈmeɪni.əm// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“germanium” is uncommon English (frequency #57,403 among 18,276 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,403
frequency rank, English: 18,276
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A nonmetallic chemical element (symbol Ge) with an atomic number of 32: a lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group.

Key facts for germanium
Property	Value
Headword	germanium
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/d͡ʒɚˈmeɪni.əm/
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#57,403
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “germanium” sits in English 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). germanium lands here:

#57,403

#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

germanium is uncommon English at frequency #57,403 among 18,276 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /d͡ʒɚˈmeɪni.əm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

germanium doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Germanium. The correct English form is germanium, spelled G-E-R-M-A-N-I-U-M.

Definition

1
A nonmetallic chemical element (symbol Ge) with an atomic number of 32: a lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group.
2
An atom of this element.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Germanium.

This word in other languages

germanio(Español)germanium(Français)Germanium(Deutsch)germânio(Português)

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "germanium"?

"germanium" is spelled G-E-R-M-A-N-I-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /d͡ʒɚˈmeɪni.əm/.

What does "germanium" mean?

As a noun, "germanium" means: A nonmetallic chemical element (symbol Ge) with an atomic number of 32: a lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group.

How do you pronounce "germanium"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "germanium" is /d͡ʒɚˈmeɪni.əm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "germanium"?

Borrowed from German Germanium. See the full etymology section above for more details.

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 “germanium”

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

The one correct English spelling is G-E-R-M-A-N-I-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /d͡ʒɚˈmeɪni.əm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English 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.