zeitgeist
/ˈzaɪtˌɡaɪst/
"zeitgeist" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“zeitgeist” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #38,699 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #38,699
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The spirit of the age; the taste, outlook, and spirit characteristic of a period.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | zeitgeist |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈzaɪtˌɡaɪst/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #38,699 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “zeitgeist” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for zeitgeist is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈzaɪtˌɡaɪst/. Corpus data places it at rank #38,699 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The spirit of the age; the taste, outlook, and spirit characteristic of a period.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for zeitgeist, with forms such as "ezitgeist", "zeigteist", and "zeitegist". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from German Zeitgeist (literally “spirit of the age”). The correct English form is zeitgeist, spelled Z-E-I-T-G-E-I-S-T.
Definition
- 1The spirit of the age; the taste, outlook, and spirit characteristic of a period.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from German Zeitgeist (literally “spirit of the age”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ezitgeist,zeigteist,zeitegist,zeitgeisst,zeitgeistt,zeitgeits,zeitgesit,zeitggeist,zeitgiest,zeittgeist,zetigeist,zietgeist,zietgiest,zzeitgeist
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of zeitgeist - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "zeitgeist"?
What does "zeitgeist" mean?
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Using “zeitgeist”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Z-E-I-T-G-E-I-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈzaɪtˌɡaɪst/ (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
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.