Gedankenspiel

[ɡəˈdaŋkn̩ˌʃpiːl]

/[ɡəˈdaŋkn̩ˌʃpiːl]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Gedankenspiel” is an uncommon German word, ranked #78,005 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#78,005
frequency rank, German
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Überlegung dazu, wie etwas sein könnte/sollte

Key facts for Gedankenspiel
PropertyValue
HeadwordGedankenspiel
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɡəˈdaŋkn̩ˌʃpiːl]
Letters13
Frequency rank#78,005
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Gedankenspiel” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Gedankenspiel lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Gedankenspiel is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩ˌʃpiːl]. Corpus data places it at rank #78,005 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Überlegung dazu, wie etwas sein könnte/sollte".

Zero misspellings are on record for Gedankenspiel in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is Gedankenspiel, spelled G-E-D-A-N-K-E-N-S-P-I-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Überlegung dazu, wie etwas sein könnte/sollte

This word in other languages

mind game(English)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Gedankenspiel"?
"Gedankenspiel" is spelled G-E-D-A-N-K-E-N-S-P-I-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩ˌʃpiːl].
What does "Gedankenspiel" mean?
As a noun, "Gedankenspiel" means: Überlegung dazu, wie etwas sein könnte/sollte
How do you pronounce "Gedankenspiel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Gedankenspiel" is [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩ˌʃpiːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Gedankenspiel" come from?
"Gedankenspiel" 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.

Using “Gedankenspiel”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is G-E-D-A-N-K-E-N-S-P-I-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ɡəˈdaŋkn̩ˌʃpiːl] (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list