den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben

[deːn ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩ mɪt ˈbeːlt͡səbuːp ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]

/[deːn ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩ mɪt ˈbeːlt͡səbuːp ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]/ phrase

The verdict

“den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben” 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
35
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — ein Übel durch ein anderes, zumeist noch schlimmeres, bekämpfen, ersetzen

Key facts for den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben
PropertyValue
Headwordden Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[deːn ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩ mɪt ˈbeːlt͡səbuːp ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]
Letters35
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben” sits in German frequency

den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben 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 Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben is 35 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [deːn ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩ mɪt ˈbeːlt͡səbuːp ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]. 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: "ein Übel durch ein anderes, zumeist noch schlimmeres, bekämpfen, ersetzen".

No misspelling variants are generated for den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben 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 Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben, spelled D-E-N- -T-E-U-F-E-L- -M-I-T- -B-E-E-L-Z-E-B-U-B- -A-U-S-T-R-E-I-B-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    ein Übel durch ein anderes, zumeist noch schlimmeres, bekämpfen, ersetzen

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 Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben, 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-teufel-mit-beelzebub-austreiben

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben"?
"den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben" is spelled D-E-N- -T-E-U-F-E-L- -M-I-T- -B-E-E-L-Z-E-B-U-B- -A-U-S-T-R-E-I-B-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [deːn ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩ mɪt ˈbeːlt͡səbuːp ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩].
What does "den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben" mean?
As a phrase, "den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben" means: ein Übel durch ein anderes, zumeist noch schlimmeres, bekämpfen, ersetzen
How do you pronounce "den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben" is [deːn ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩ mɪt ˈbeːlt͡səbuːp ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben" come from?
"den Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben" 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 Teufel mit Beelzebub austreiben”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is D-E-N- -T-E-U-F-E-L- -M-I-T- -B-E-E-L-Z-E-B-U-B- -A-U-S-T-R-E-I-B-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [deːn ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩ mɪt ˈbeːlt͡səbuːp ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩] (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:

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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