a posteriori

[a pɔsteˈʁi̯oːʁi]

/[a pɔsteˈʁi̯oːʁi]/ phrase

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency German
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nachträglich, später, im Nachhinein

Corpus desk

Index DE-a-posteriori · a posteriori · German

a posteriori · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for a posteriori
PropertyValue
Headworda posteriori
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[a pɔsteˈʁi̯oːʁi]
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „a posteriori“ im Deutschen

a posteriorisitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

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

Rare enough to double-check

a posteriori is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [a pɔsteˈʁi̯oːʁi]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for a posteriori, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is a posteriori, spelled A- -P-O-S-T-E-R-I-O-R-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    nachträglich, später, im Nachhinein
  2. 2
    aus der Erfahrung oder der Wahrnehmung heraus gewonnen oder stammend

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „War sich der Leidende keiner Sünde bewußt, mußte versucht werden, a posteriori durch das Leiden auf das Vergehen zu schließen.“
  2. „Man kan auch von der Unsterblichkeit der vernünftigen Geister noch andere Beweise geben, welche von dem Zustande der gegenwärtigen Welt, welche wir a posteriori wahrnehmen, hergenommen sind …“

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 "a posteriori"?
"a posteriori" is spelled A- -P-O-S-T-E-R-I-O-R-I. The IPA pronunciation is [a pɔsteˈʁi̯oːʁi].
What does "a posteriori" mean?
As a phrase, "a posteriori" means: nachträglich, später, im Nachhinein
How do you pronounce "a posteriori"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "a posteriori" is [a pɔsteˈʁi̯oːʁi]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "a posteriori" come from?
"a posteriori" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list