desperate

[dɛspəˈʁaːtə]

/[dɛspəˈʁaːtə]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“desperate” is uncommon German (frequency #65,107 among 45,632 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,107
frequency rank, German
45,632
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat

Key facts for desperate
PropertyValue
Headworddesperate
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[dɛspəˈʁaːtə]
Letters9
Frequency rank#65,107
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “desperate” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). desperate lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

desperate is uncommon German at frequency #65,107 among 45,632 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [dɛspəˈʁaːtə]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

desperate doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, 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 its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is desperate, spelled D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
  2. 2
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
  3. 3
    Nominativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
  4. 4
    Akkusativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
  5. 5
    Nominativ Singular alle Genera der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
  6. 6
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
  7. 7
    Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
  8. 8
    Nominativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
  9. 9
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat

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 "desperate"?
"desperate" is spelled D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is [dɛspəˈʁaːtə].
What does "desperate" mean?
As an adjective, "desperate" means: Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs desperat
How do you pronounce "desperate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "desperate" is [dɛspəˈʁaːtə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "desperate" come from?
"desperate" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “desperate”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [dɛspəˈʁaːtə] (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

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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