Birkenau

name

The verdict

“Birkenau” is uncommon French (frequency #63,556 among 227,490 “B” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,556
frequency rank, French
227,490
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Commune d’Allemagne, située dans la Hesse.

Key facts for Birkenau
PropertyValue
HeadwordBirkenau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechProper noun
Letters8
Frequency rank#63,556
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Birkenau” sits in French 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). Birkenau lands here:

#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

Birkenau is uncommon French at frequency #63,556 among 227,490 “B” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for Birkenau in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is Birkenau, spelled B-I-R-K-E-N-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Commune d’Allemagne, située dans la Hesse.
  2. 2
    Nom allemand de Brzezinka, en Pologne, camp de concentration proche d’Auschwitz.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Birkenau"?
"Birkenau" is spelled B-I-R-K-E-N-A-U.
What does "Birkenau" mean?
As a proper noun, "Birkenau" means: Commune d’Allemagne, située dans la Hesse.
What language does "Birkenau" come from?
"Birkenau" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “Birkenau”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-I-R-K-E-N-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French 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.

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

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