Relative Frequencies of Letters in Other Languages
| Letter | French | German | Spanish | Portuguese | Esperanto | Italian | Turkish | Swedish | Polish | Dutch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | 7.636% | 6.51% | 12.53% | 14.63% | 12.12% | 11.74% | 11.68% | 9.3% | 8.0% | 7.49% |
| b | 0.901% | 1.89% | 1.42% | 1.04% | 0.98% | 0.92% | 2.95% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.58% |
| c | 3.260% | 3.06% | 4.68% | 3.88% | 0.78% | 4.5% | 0.97% | 1.3% | 3.8% | 1.24% |
| d | 3.669% | 5.08% | 5.86% | 4.99% | 3.04% | 3.73% | 4.87% | 4.5% | 3.0% | 5.93% |
| e | 14.715% | 17.40% | 13.68% | 12.57% | 8.99% | 11.79% | 9.01% | 9.9% | 6.9% | 18.91% |
| f | 1.066% | 1.66% | 0.69% | 1.02% | 1.03% | 0.95% | 0.44% | 2.0% | 0.1% | 0.81% |
| g | 0.866% | 3.01% | 1.01% | 1.30% | 1.17% | 1.64% | 1.34% | 3.3% | 1.0% | 3.40% |
| h | 0.737% | 4.76% | 0.70% | 1.28% | 0.38% | 1.54% | 1.14% | 2.1% | 1.0% | 2.38% |
| i | 7.529% | 7.55% | 6.25% | 6.18% | 10.01% | 11.28% | 8.27%* | 5.1% | 7.0% | 6.50% |
| j | 0.545% | 0.27% | 0.44% | 0.40% | 3.50% | 0.00% | 0.01% | 0.7% | 1.9% | 1.46% |
| k | 0.049% | 1.21% | 0.01% | 0.02% | 4.16% | 0.00% | 4.71% | 3.2% | 2.7% | 2.25% |
| l | 5.456% | 3.44% | 4.97% | 2.78% | 6.14% | 6.51% | 5.75% | 5.2% | 3.1% | 3.57% |
| m | 2.968% | 2.53% | 3.15% | 4.74% | 2.99% | 2.51% | 3.74% | 3.5% | 2.4% | 2.21% |
| n | 7.095% | 9.78% | 6.71% | 5.05% | 7.96% | 6.88% | 7.23% | 8.8% | 4.7% | 10.03% |
| o | 5.378% | 2.51% | 8.68% | 10.73% | 8.78% | 9.83% | 2.45% | 4.1% | 7.1% | 6.06% |
| p | 3.021% | 0.79% | 2.51% | 2.52% | 2.74% | 3.05% | 0.79% | 1.7% | 2.4% | 1.57% |
| q | 1.362% | 0.02% | 0.88% | 1.20% | 0.00% | 0.51% | 0 | 0.007% | - | 0.009% |
| r | 6.553% | 7.00% | 6.87% | 6.53% | 5.91% | 6.37% | 6.95% | 8.3% | 3.5% | 6.41% |
| s | 7.948% | 7.27% | 7.98% | 7.81% | 6.09% | 4.98% | 2.95% | 6.3% | 3.8% | 3.73% |
| t | 7.244% | 6.15% | 4.63% | 4.74% | 5.27% | 5.62% | 3.09% | 8.7% | 2.4% | 6.79% |
| u | 6.311% | 4.35% | 3.93% | 4.63% | 3.18% | 3.01% | 3.43% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.99% |
| v | 1.628% | 0.67% | 0.90% | 1.67% | 1.90% | 2.10% | 0.98% | 2.4% | - | 2.85% |
| w | 0.114% | 1.89% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0 | 0.03% | 3.6% | 1.52% |
| x | 0.387% | 0.03% | 0.22% | 0.21% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0 | 0.1% | - | 0.04% |
| y | 0.308% | 0.04% | 0.90% | 0.01% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3.37% | 0.6% | 3.2% | 0.035% |
| z | 0.136% | 1.13% | 0.52% | 0.47% | 0.50% | 0.49% | 1.50% | 0.02% | 5.1% | 1.39% |
| à | 0.486% | 0 | 0 | see a | 0 | see a | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | see a |
| å | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.6% | 0 | - |
| ä | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1% | 0 | see a |
| ą | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see a | - |
| œ | 0.018% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ç | 0.085% | 0 | 0 | see c | 0 | 0 | 1.26% | 0 | 0 | - |
| ĉ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.66% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ć | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see c | - |
| è | 0.271% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see e | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | see e |
| é | 1.904% | 0 | 0 | see e | 0 | see e | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | see e |
| ê | 0.225% | 0 | 0 | see e | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ë | 0.001% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see e |
| ę | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see e | - |
| ĝ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.69% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ğ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.13% | 0 | 0 | - |
| ĥ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.02% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| î | 0.045% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ì | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see i | 0 | 0 | 0 | see i |
| ï | 0.005% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see i |
| ı | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.20%* | 0 | 0 | - |
| ĵ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.12% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ł | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see l | - |
| ñ | 0 | 0 | 0.31% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ń | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see n | - |
| ò | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see o | 0 | 0 | 0 | see o |
| ö | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.87% | 1.5% | 0 | see o |
| ó | 0 | - | 0 | see o | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see o | see o |
| ŝ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.38% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ş | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.94% | 0 | 0 | - |
| ś | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see s | - |
| ß | 0 | 0.31% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ù | 0.058% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see u | 0 | 0 | 0 | see u |
| ŭ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.52% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| ü | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.99% | 0 | 0 | see u |
| ź | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | see z | - |
| ż | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7% | - |
*See Dotted and dotless I
The figure below illustrates the frequency distributions of the 26 most common Latin letters across some languages.
Based on these tables, the 'etaoin shrdlu'-equivalent results for each language is as follows:
- French: 'esait nrulo'; (Indo-European: Romance; traditionally, 'esartinulop' is used, in part for its ease of pronunciation)
- Spanish: 'eaosr nidlc'; (Indo-European: Romance)
- Portuguese: 'aeosr indmt' (Indo-European: Romance)
- Italian: 'eaion lrtsc'; (Indo-European: Romance)
- Esperanto: 'aieon lsrtk' (artificial language – influenced by Indo-European languages, Romance, Germanic mostly)
- German: 'enisr atdhu'; (Indo-European: Germanic)
- Swedish: 'eantr slido'; (Indo-European: Germanic)
- Turkish: 'aeinr ldkmu'; (Altaic: Turkic)
- Dutch: 'enati rodsl'; (Indo-European: Germanic)
- Polish: 'aoiez nscwr'; (Indo-European: Slavic)
All these languages use a basically similar 25+ character alphabet.
Read more about this topic: Letter Frequency
Famous quotes containing the words relative, letters and/or languages:
“And since the average lifetime—the relative longevity—is far greater for memories of poetic sensations than for those of heartbreaks, since the very long time that the grief I felt then because of Gilbert, it has been outlived by the pleasure I feel, whenever I wish to read, as in a sort of sundial, the minutes between twelve fifteen and one o’clock, in the month of May, upon remembering myself chatting ... with Madame Swann under the reflection of a cradle of wisteria.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“Harvey: About this Voltaire.
Helene: What about him?
Harvey: How’d he ever get time to do all he did?
Helene: He lived to be old.
Harvey: Even so, how many letters did he write?
Helene: Oh, I don’t know exactly. Thousands.
Harvey: I can’t remember when I even wrote one.
Helene: You should try.
Harvey: It’s too late. I wouldn’t know where to send it.”
—Tom Waldman (d. 1985)
“The less sophisticated of my forbears avoided foreigners at all costs, for the very good reason that, in their circles, speaking in tongues was commonly a prelude to snake handling. The more tolerant among us regarded foreign languages as a kind of speech impediment that could be overcome by willpower.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)