-erl
[ɐɺl]
The verdict
“-erl” 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
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - nachgestelltes Wortbildungselement im süddeutschen und österreichischen Raum, zur Darstellung einer verkleinerten Wortform; Diminutivsuffix
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | -erl |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Suffix |
| IPA | [ɐɺl] |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “-erl” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for -erl is 4 letters long, classified as a suffix, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɐɺl]. 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 im süddeutschen und österreichischen Raum, zur Darstellung einer verkleinerten Wortform; Diminutivsuffix".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for -erl, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is -erl, spelled --E-R-L.
Definition
- 1nachgestelltes Wortbildungselement im süddeutschen und österreichischen Raum, zur Darstellung einer verkleinerten Wortform; Diminutivsuffix
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
How do you spell "-erl"?
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Using “-erl”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is --E-R-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ɐɺl] (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.