-el
[-əln]
The verdict
“-el” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a suffix - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 3
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | -el |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Suffix |
| IPA | [-əln] |
| Letters | 3 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “-el” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for -el is 3 letters long, classified as a suffix, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [-əln]. 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: "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
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “-el”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is --E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [-əln] (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
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.