den Kopf hängen lassen

[deːn ˈkɔp͡f ˈhɛŋən ˈlasn̩]

/[deːn ˈkɔp͡f ˈhɛŋən ˈlasn̩]/ phrase

The verdict

“den Kopf hängen lassen” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
22
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - den Mut verlieren, die Hoffnung verlieren, enttäuscht sein

Corpus desk

Index DE-den-kopf-hangen-lassen · den Kopf hängen lassen · German

den Kopf hängen lassen · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 22 letters
  • VOW-6 6 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.

Key facts for den Kopf hängen lassen
PropertyValue
Headwordden Kopf hängen lassen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[deːn ˈkɔp͡f ˈhɛŋən ˈlasn̩]
Letters22
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „den Kopf hängen lassen“ im Deutschen

den Kopf hängen lassenliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

den Kopf hängen lassen is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [deːn ˈkɔp͡f ˈhɛŋən ˈlasn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "den Mut verlieren, die Hoffnung verlieren, enttäuscht sein".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for den Kopf hängen lassen, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is den Kopf hängen lassen, spelled D-E-N- -K-O-P-F- -H-Ä-N-G-E-N- -L-A-S-S-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    den Mut verlieren, die Hoffnung verlieren, enttäuscht sein

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Lass den Kopf nicht hängen, das wird schon wieder.“
  2. In der 83. Minute schießt Mchitarjan für die Dortmunder das 3:0, das Spiel ist entschieden und die Berliner lassen die Köpfe hängen.

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 "den Kopf hängen lassen"?
"den Kopf hängen lassen" is spelled D-E-N- -K-O-P-F- -H-Ä-N-G-E-N- -L-A-S-S-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [deːn ˈkɔp͡f ˈhɛŋən ˈlasn̩].
What does "den Kopf hängen lassen" mean?
As a phrase, "den Kopf hängen lassen" means: den Mut verlieren, die Hoffnung verlieren, enttäuscht sein
How do you pronounce "den Kopf hängen lassen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "den Kopf hängen lassen" is [deːn ˈkɔp͡f ˈhɛŋən ˈlasn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "den Kopf hängen lassen" come from?
"den Kopf hängen lassen" 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