superego

/ˈsupɚˌiɡoʊ/

//ˈsupɚˌiɡoʊ// noun

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

"superego" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“superego” is uncommon English (frequency #70,305 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,305
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The part of the mind that acts as a self-critical conscience, reflecting social standards that have been learnt.

Corpus desk

Index EN-superego · superego · English

superego · rank #70,305 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,305
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sunning

Nearest frequency peer: sunning (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Long-tail ranks near “superego”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “superego” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for superego
PropertyValue
Headwordsuperego
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsupɚˌiɡoʊ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#70,305
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “superego” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).superegofalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “sunning” (#70,304), “substructure” (#70,303), “subsiding” (#70,302). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “superego” is #70,305. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

superego is uncommon English at frequency #70,305 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsupɚˌiɡoʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The part of the mind that acts as a self-critical conscience, reflecting social standards that have been learnt.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for superego, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From super + ego, from earlier form super-ego, calqued after German Über-Ich, from über- (“super-”) + Ich (“ego”), from the pronoun ich (“I”). The correct English form is superego, spelled S-U-P-E-R-E-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    The part of the mind that acts as a self-critical conscience, reflecting social standards that have been learnt.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Still, it would be an error to believe that psychoanalytic theory makes no contribution to describing and assessing different types of ethical conduct. The crucial notion in this connection is the relative rigidity or flexibility of the superego. The childish, immature, or neurotic superego is rigid; it is characterized by slavish adherence to rules which…
  2. Anthropic has positioned itself as the AI industry’s superego: the firm that speaks with the most authority about the big questions surrounding the technology, while rival companies develop advertisements and affiliate shopping links […].

Etymology

From super + ego, from earlier form super-ego, calqued after German Über-Ich, from über- (“super-”) + Ich (“ego”), from the pronoun ich (“I”).

This word in other languages

surmoi(Français)Über-Ich(Deutsch)

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 "superego"?
"superego" is spelled S-U-P-E-R-E-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsupɚˌiɡoʊ/.
What does "superego" mean?
As a noun, "superego" means: The part of the mind that acts as a self-critical conscience, reflecting social standards that have been learnt.
How do you pronounce "superego"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "superego" is /ˈsupɚˌiɡoʊ/. 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 "superego"?
From super + ego, from earlier form super-ego, calqued after German Über-Ich, from über- (“super-”) + Ich (“ego”), from the pronoun ich (“I”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stepwise#70,295tactless#70,315tangling#70,321thallium#70,326

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list