gar nicht

[ˈɡaːɐ̯ nɪçt]

/[ˈɡaːɐ̯ nɪçt]/ phrase

The verdict

“gar nicht” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - überhaupt nicht

Corpus desk

Index DE-gar-nicht · gar nicht · German

gar nicht · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" 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.

Key facts for gar nicht
PropertyValue
Headwordgar nicht
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˈɡaːɐ̯ nɪçt]
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „gar nicht“ im Deutschen

gar nichtliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gar nicht is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [ˈɡaːɐ̯ nɪçt]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "überhaupt nicht".

gar nicht doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is gar nicht, spelled G-A-R- -N-I-C-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    überhaupt nicht

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how gar nicht appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Als Eselsbrücke für die Schreibweise von "gar nicht" bietet sich an: "gar nicht" wird gar nicht zusammengeschrieben.
  2. Das ist gar nicht teuer, man muss ja auch den Nutzen sehen.

This word in other languages

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 "gar nicht"?
"gar nicht" is spelled G-A-R- -N-I-C-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈɡaːɐ̯ nɪçt].
What does "gar nicht" mean?
As a phrase, "gar nicht" means: überhaupt nicht
How do you pronounce "gar nicht"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gar nicht" is [ˈɡaːɐ̯ nɪçt]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "gar nicht" come from?
"gar nicht" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list