Eselei
German, noun/ˌeːzəˈlaɪ̯/
Eselei is spelled E-S-E-L-E-I (6 letters) and appears about once in every 26 million words in written German, the 297,534th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Eselei is a German feminine noun meaning “asininity, folly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “törichtes Verhalten, unüberlegte Handlung; dummer Schabernack”.
What does Eselei mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineasininity, folly
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. törichtes Verhalten, unüberlegte Handlung; dummer Schabernack
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 Eselei
- Eseleien plural
- Eselerei variant rare
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Eselei?
- /ˌeːzəˈlaɪ̯/
- [eːzəˈlaɪ̯]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is Eselei in German?
Eselei appears about once in every 26 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).