Low German

noun

"low-german" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Low German” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A West Germanic language spoken in Low (i.e. Northern) Germany and north-eastern parts of the Netherlands, and formerly also in large parts of eastern and north-eastern Europe, which developed out ...

Key facts for Low German
PropertyValue
HeadwordLow German
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Low German” sits in English frequency

Low German falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Low German is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A West Germanic language spoken in Low (i.e. Northern) Germany and north-eastern parts of the Netherlands, and formerly also in large parts of eastern and north-eastern Europe, which developed out ...".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Low German, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: See low (as in lowland) and German, because northern Germany (Low Germany), where it is spoken, is lower in elevation than southern Germany. See also High German in contrast. The correct English form is Low German, spelled L-O-W- -G-E-R-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A West Germanic language spoken in Low (i.e. Northern) Germany and north-eastern parts of the Netherlands, and formerly also in large parts of eastern and north-eastern Europe, which developed out of Middle Low German from Old Saxon; often treated as a dialect group of German (or Dutch) for convenience, but widely recognized as a separate language.

Etymology

See low (as in lowland) and German, because northern Germany (Low Germany), where it is spoken, is lower in elevation than southern Germany. See also High German in contrast.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Low German"?
"Low German" is spelled L-O-W- -G-E-R-M-A-N.
What does "Low German" mean?
As a noun, "Low German" means: A West Germanic language spoken in Low (i.e. Northern) Germany and north-eastern parts of the Netherlands, and formerly also in large parts of eastern and north-eastern Europe, which developed out ...
What is the origin of the word "Low German"?
See low (as in lowland) and German, because northern Germany (Low Germany), where it is spoken, is lower in elevation than southern Germany. See also High German in contrast. 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 “Low German”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is L-O-W- -G-E-R-M-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list