Adonai
[adoˈnaːi]
The verdict
“Adonai” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a proper noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - im Tanach und im Alten Testament aus religiöser Scheu verwendete Umschreibung des Gottesnamen Jahwe, der nicht ausgesprochen werden dürfe
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Adonai |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | [adoˈnaːi] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Adonai” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Adonai is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [adoˈnaːi]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "im Tanach und im Alten Testament aus religiöser Scheu verwendete Umschreibung des Gottesnamen Jahwe, der nicht ausgesprochen werden dürfe".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Adonai, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Adonai, spelled A-D-O-N-A-I.
Definition
- 1im Tanach und im Alten Testament aus religiöser Scheu verwendete Umschreibung des Gottesnamen Jahwe, der nicht ausgesprochen werden dürfe
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
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Using “Adonai”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is A-D-O-N-A-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [adoˈnaːi] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German 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.