auf eigene Faust

[aʊ̯f ˌʔaɪ̯ɡənə ˈfaʊ̯st]

/[aʊ̯f ˌʔaɪ̯ɡənə ˈfaʊ̯st]/ phrase

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency German
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - aus eigenem Antrieb, durch eigene Tatkraft, ohne fremde Hilfe; auf eigene Verantwortung

Corpus desk

Index DE-auf-eigene-faust · auf eigene Faust · German

auf eigene Faust · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-8 8 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 auf eigene Faust
PropertyValue
Headwordauf eigene Faust
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[aʊ̯f ˌʔaɪ̯ɡənə ˈfaʊ̯st]
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „auf eigene Faust“ im Deutschen

auf eigene Faustsitzt 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

auf eigene Faust is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [aʊ̯f ˌʔaɪ̯ɡənə ˈfaʊ̯st]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "aus eigenem Antrieb, durch eigene Tatkraft, ohne fremde Hilfe; auf eigene Verantwortung".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for auf eigene Faust, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. 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.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is auf eigene Faust, spelled A-U-F- -E-I-G-E-N-E- -F-A-U-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    aus eigenem Antrieb, durch eigene Tatkraft, ohne fremde Hilfe; auf eigene Verantwortung

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Lieber ein Narr sein auf eigne Faust, als ein Weiser nach fremdem Gutdünken!“
  2. „Daß ich zu Klamm gelangen will, weißt du, daß du mir dazu nicht verhelfen kannst und daß ich es daher auf eigene Faust erreichen muß, weißt du auch, daß es mir bisher noch nicht gelungen ist, siehst du.“

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 "auf eigene Faust"?
"auf eigene Faust" is spelled A-U-F- -E-I-G-E-N-E- -F-A-U-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is [aʊ̯f ˌʔaɪ̯ɡənə ˈfaʊ̯st].
What does "auf eigene Faust" mean?
As a phrase, "auf eigene Faust" means: aus eigenem Antrieb, durch eigene Tatkraft, ohne fremde Hilfe; auf eigene Verantwortung
How do you pronounce "auf eigene Faust"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "auf eigene Faust" is [aʊ̯f ˌʔaɪ̯ɡənə ˈfaʊ̯st]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "auf eigene Faust" come from?
"auf eigene Faust" is a German 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list