Erkältung
German, noun/ɛrˈkɛltʊŋ/
Erkältung is spelled E-R-K-Ä-L-T-U-N-G (9 letters) and appears 4.8 times per million words in written German, the 12,686th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Erkältung is a German feminine noun meaning “cold (illness)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “Erkrankung, Infektion der Atemwege (zum Beispiel Husten, Schnupfen, Heiserkeit, Katarrh)”.
What does Erkältung mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininecold (illness)
Ich habe eine Erkältung.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Erkrankung, Infektion der Atemwege (zum Beispiel Husten, Schnupfen, Heiserkeit, Katarrh)
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 Erkältung
- Erkältungen plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Erkältung?
- /ɛrˈkɛltʊŋ/
- [ʔɛɐ̯ˈkʰɛltʰʊŋ]
- [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltʊŋ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to Erkältung
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is Erkältung in German?
Erkältung appears 4.8 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).