dicke Luft

[ˌdɪkə ˈlʊft]

/[ˌdɪkə ˈlʊft]/ phrase

The verdict

“dicke Luft” 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
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - schlechte Stimmung zwischen mehreren Parteien

Key facts for dicke Luft
PropertyValue
Headworddicke Luft
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˌdɪkə ˈlʊft]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dicke Luft” sits in German frequency

dicke Luft 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 dicke Luft is 10 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˌdɪkə ˈlʊft]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for dicke Luft 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 dicke Luft, spelled D-I-C-K-E- -L-U-F-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    schlechte Stimmung zwischen mehreren Parteien
  2. 2
    verschmutzte Luft

Synonyms

atmosphärische Störungder Haussegen hängt schiefdie Kacke ist am Dampfendie Ruhe vor dem SturmFeuer unter dem Dachvergiftetes KlimaSmog

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, “dicke Luft, 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/dicke-luft

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dicke Luft"?
"dicke Luft" is spelled D-I-C-K-E- -L-U-F-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌdɪkə ˈlʊft].
What does "dicke Luft" mean?
As a phrase, "dicke Luft" means: schlechte Stimmung zwischen mehreren Parteien
How do you pronounce "dicke Luft"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dicke Luft" is [ˌdɪkə ˈlʊft]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "dicke Luft" come from?
"dicke Luft" 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 “dicke Luft”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is D-I-C-K-E- -L-U-F-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˌdɪkə ˈlʊft] (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