Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische

[ɡeː duː ˈaltɐ ˈeːzl̩ ˈhoːlə ˈfɪʃə]

/[ɡeː duː ˈaltɐ ˈeːzl̩ ˈhoːlə ˈfɪʃə]/ phrase

The verdict

“Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
31
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — Merkspruch für die Dur-Tonarten mit ♯-Vorzeichen: G-Dur (1♯), D-Dur (2♯), A-Dur (3♯), E-Dur (4♯), H-Dur (5♯) und Fis-Dur (6♯)

Key facts for Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische
PropertyValue
HeadwordGeh, du alter Esel, hole Fische
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ɡeː duː ˈaltɐ ˈeːzl̩ ˈhoːlə ˈfɪʃə]
Letters31
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische” sits in German frequency

Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische is 31 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɡeː duː ˈaltɐ ˈeːzl̩ ˈhoːlə ˈfɪʃə]. 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: "Merkspruch für die Dur-Tonarten mit ♯-Vorzeichen: G-Dur (1♯), D-Dur (2♯), A-Dur (3♯), E-Dur (4♯), H-Dur (5♯) und Fis-Dur (6♯)".

No misspelling variants are generated for Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische, spelled G-E-H-,- -D-U- -A-L-T-E-R- -E-S-E-L-,- -H-O-L-E- -F-I-S-C-H-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Merkspruch für die Dur-Tonarten mit ♯-Vorzeichen: G-Dur (1♯), D-Dur (2♯), A-Dur (3♯), E-Dur (4♯), H-Dur (5♯) und Fis-Dur (6♯)

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/geh-du-alter-esel-hole-fische

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische"?
"Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische" is spelled G-E-H-,- -D-U- -A-L-T-E-R- -E-S-E-L-,- -H-O-L-E- -F-I-S-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ɡeː duː ˈaltɐ ˈeːzl̩ ˈhoːlə ˈfɪʃə].
What does "Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische" mean?
As a phrase, "Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische" means: Merkspruch für die Dur-Tonarten mit ♯-Vorzeichen: G-Dur (1♯), D-Dur (2♯), A-Dur (3♯), E-Dur (4♯), H-Dur (5♯) und Fis-Dur (6♯)
How do you pronounce "Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische" is [ɡeː duː ˈaltɐ ˈeːzl̩ ˈhoːlə ˈfɪʃə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische" come from?
"Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “Geh, du alter Esel, hole Fische”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is G-E-H-,- -D-U- -A-L-T-E-R- -E-S-E-L-,- -H-O-L-E- -F-I-S-C-H-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ɡeː duː ˈaltɐ ˈeːzl̩ ˈhoːlə ˈfɪʃə] (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

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter G in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

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