de facto
[deː ˈfakto]
The verdict
“de facto” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nach Tatsachen, in der Praxis, tatsächlich
Corpus desk
Index DE-de-facto · de facto · German
de facto · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | de facto |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | [deː ˈfakto] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „de facto“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
de facto is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed [deː ˈfakto]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "nach Tatsachen, in der Praxis, tatsächlich".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for de facto, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is de facto, spelled D-E- -F-A-C-T-O.
Definition
- 1nach Tatsachen, in der Praxis, tatsächlich
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how de facto appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Der Sieger der Wahl stand de facto schon vor der Wahl fest.
Während „de jure“ den (rechtlichen) Soll-Zustand ausdrückt, bezeichnet de facto den Ist-Zustand.
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.