debil

[deˈbiːl]

/[deˈbiːl]/ adj

The verdict

“debil” is uncommon German (frequency #95,416 among 2,764 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#95,416
frequency rank, German
2,764
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - ein wenig geistig behindert

Corpus desk

Index DE-debil · debil · German

debil · rank #95,416 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #95,416
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,764
  • PHOTO-FINISH Demokratin

Nearest frequency peer: Demokratin (+2 rank slots)

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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „debil“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „debil“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for debil
PropertyValue
Headworddebil
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[deˈbiːl]
Letters5
Frequency rank#95,416
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „debil“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.debilfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Demokratin“ (#95,418), „Dauerwelle“ (#95,413), „demons“ (#95,419). Unter 2,764 „D“-Lemmata liegt „debil“ bei #95,416. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

debil is uncommon German at frequency #95,416 among 2,764 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [deˈbiːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "ein wenig geistig behindert".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for debil, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is debil, spelled D-E-B-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    ein wenig geistig behindert

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Diese Blockwarte müssen ja leicht debil sein.
  2. „Das Ehepaar vid Berbisá und sein debiler Sohn wohnten in einem dreistöckigen Betonhaus in Kolbeinagjógv.“

Synonyms

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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "debil"?
"debil" is spelled D-E-B-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is [deˈbiːl].
What does "debil" mean?
As an adjective, "debil" means: ein wenig geistig behindert
How do you pronounce "debil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "debil" is [deˈbiːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "debil" come from?
"debil" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "debil", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list