Bürgerschreck

[ˈbʏʁɡɐˌʃʁɛk]

/[ˈbʏʁɡɐˌʃʁɛk]/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency German
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Person, die sich nicht an gesellschaftliche Normen hält, die bewusst provoziert, um den Durchschnittsbürger zu verschrecken oder zu verärgern

Corpus desk

Index DE-burgerschreck · Bürgerschreck · German

Bürgerschreck · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" 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 Bürgerschreck
PropertyValue
HeadwordBürgerschreck
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈbʏʁɡɐˌʃʁɛk]
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Bürgerschreck“ im Deutschen

Bürgerschrecksitzt 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

Bürgerschreck is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈbʏʁɡɐˌʃʁɛk]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Person, die sich nicht an gesellschaftliche Normen hält, die bewusst provoziert, um den Durchschnittsbürger zu verschrecken oder zu verärgern".

Bürgerschreck doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is Bürgerschreck, spelled B-Ü-R-G-E-R-S-C-H-R-E-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Person, die sich nicht an gesellschaftliche Normen hält, die bewusst provoziert, um den Durchschnittsbürger zu verschrecken oder zu verärgern

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Aus dem Bürgerschreck der Studentenbewegung ist nun ein angesehener Wirtschaftsanwalt geworden.
  2. [Serge] Gainsbourg war der ideale Bürgerschreck für die siebziger und achtziger Jahre, eine Mischung aus Zigeunerbaron und Easy Rider, Protzer und Poet, Maul- und Frauenheld.

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 "Bürgerschreck"?
"Bürgerschreck" is spelled B-Ü-R-G-E-R-S-C-H-R-E-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈbʏʁɡɐˌʃʁɛk].
What does "Bürgerschreck" mean?
As a noun, "Bürgerschreck" means: Person, die sich nicht an gesellschaftliche Normen hält, die bewusst provoziert, um den Durchschnittsbürger zu verschrecken oder zu verärgern
How do you pronounce "Bürgerschreck"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Bürgerschreck" is [ˈbʏʁɡɐˌʃʁɛk]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Bürgerschreck" come from?
"Bürgerschreck" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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