den Rubikon überschreiten

[ˌdeːn ˈʁuːbikɔn ˌʔyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩]

/[ˌdeːn ˈʁuːbikɔn ˌʔyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩]/ phrase

The verdict

“den Rubikon überschreiten” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
25
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — eine folgenschwere Entscheidung unwiderruflich treffen, mithilfe derer ein – für alles Zukünftige – (strategisch) entscheidender Schritt getan wird; etwas tun, das unumkehrbar ist

Key facts for den Rubikon überschreiten
PropertyValue
Headwordden Rubikon überschreiten
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˌdeːn ˈʁuːbikɔn ˌʔyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩]
Letters25
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “den Rubikon überschreiten” sits in German frequency

den Rubikon überschreiten falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for den Rubikon überschreiten is 25 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˌdeːn ˈʁuːbikɔn ˌʔyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "eine folgenschwere Entscheidung unwiderruflich treffen, mithilfe derer ein – für alles Zukünftige – (strategisch) entscheidender Schritt getan wird; etwas tun, das unumkehrbar ist".

No misspelling variants are generated for den Rubikon überschreiten in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. 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.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is den Rubikon überschreiten, spelled D-E-N- -R-U-B-I-K-O-N- -Ü-B-E-R-S-C-H-R-E-I-T-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    eine folgenschwere Entscheidung unwiderruflich treffen, mithilfe derer ein – für alles Zukünftige – (strategisch) entscheidender Schritt getan wird; etwas tun, das unumkehrbar ist

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “den Rubikon überschreiten, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/den-rubikon-uberschreiten

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "den Rubikon überschreiten"?
"den Rubikon überschreiten" is spelled D-E-N- -R-U-B-I-K-O-N- -Ü-B-E-R-S-C-H-R-E-I-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌdeːn ˈʁuːbikɔn ˌʔyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩].
What does "den Rubikon überschreiten" mean?
As a phrase, "den Rubikon überschreiten" means: eine folgenschwere Entscheidung unwiderruflich treffen, mithilfe derer ein – für alles Zukünftige – (strategisch) entscheidender Schritt getan wird; etwas tun, das unumkehrbar ist
How do you pronounce "den Rubikon überschreiten"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "den Rubikon überschreiten" is [ˌdeːn ˈʁuːbikɔn ˌʔyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "den Rubikon überschreiten" come from?
"den Rubikon überschreiten" 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.

Using “den Rubikon überschreiten”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is D-E-N- -R-U-B-I-K-O-N- -Ü-B-E-R-S-C-H-R-E-I-T-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˌdeːn ˈʁuːbikɔn ˌʔyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter D in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list