dunkel
German, adjective
dunkel is spelled D-U-N-K-E-L (6 letters) and appears 27 times per million words in written German, the 3,035th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Dunkel is a German adjective meaning “dark” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first-person singular present of dunkeln. With a capital, Dunkel is a different word: “dark, darkness”. On this page, Dünkel is a different word: “the (unjustified) conviction that one is better than others; conceit…”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “ohne oder mit wenig Licht, lichtlos”.
What does dunkel mean in English?
adjective
- 1
dark
Im Winter wird es früher dunkel.
- 2
deep
Er hat schon eine ganz dunkle Stimme.
- 3
vague, faint
Ich habe nur dunkle Erinnerungen an meine Großmutter.
verb
- 1
first-person singular present
- 2
singular imperative
noun
- 1
neuterdark, darkness
noun
- 1
masculinethe (unjustified) conviction that one is better than others; conceit, arrogance
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. ohne oder mit wenig Licht, lichtlos 2. im Farbton mehr oder weniger kräftig 3. tief tönend 4. unbestimmt, ungewiss
noun: 1. unangemessen hohe Selbstbeurteilung
noun: 1. lichtarmer oder völlig lichtloser Zustand, in dem sich etwas befindet oder der etwas auszeichnet 2. die an etwas anhaftende Undurchschaubarkeit, Rätselhaftigkeit, Ungewissheit, Zweifelhaftigkeit
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of dunkel
- dunkler masculine nominative singular
- dünkler Austria comparative regional
- am dunkelsten superlative
- dunkle feminine nominative singular
- dunkles neuter nominative singular
- dunklen genitive masculine singular
- dunklem dative masculine singular
- der dunkle definite includes-article masculine
- die dunkle definite feminine includes-article
- das dunkle definite includes-article neuter
- die dunklen definite includes-article nominative
- des dunklen definite genitive includes-article
- der dunklen definite feminine genitive
- dem dunklen dative definite includes-article
- Dünkels genitive singular
- Dunkels genitive singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to dunkel
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is dunkel in German?
dunkel appears 27 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).