-el
[-əln]
The verdict
“-el” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a suffix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 3
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nachgestelltes Wortbildungselement (Derivatem, Ableitungsmorphem) zur Bildung von Verben aus Verben, Substantiven und Adjektiven; drückt aus, dass die Tätigkeit oft und rasch wiederholt wird (itera...
Corpus desk
Index DE-el · -el · German
-el · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "-" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | -el |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Suffix |
| IPA | [-əln] |
| Letters | 3 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „-el“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
-el is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as asuffix, transcribed [-əln]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "nachgestelltes Wortbildungselement (Derivatem, Ableitungsmorphem) zur Bildung von Verben aus Verben, Substantiven und Adjektiven; drückt aus, dass die Tätigkeit oft und rasch wiederholt wird (itera...".
Zero misspellings are on record for -el in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is -el, spelled --E-L.
Definition
- 1nachgestelltes Wortbildungselement (Derivatem, Ableitungsmorphem) zur Bildung von Verben aus Verben, Substantiven und Adjektiven; drückt aus, dass die Tätigkeit oft und rasch wiederholt wird (iterative Bedeutung) oder hat eine diminutive, verniedlichende Bedeutung
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how -el appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Er kippelte die ganzen Schulstunde über mit dem Stuhl herum.
Sie tänzelte vergnügt durch die Wohnung.
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.