Gelegenheit macht Diebe

[ɡəˈleːɡn̩haɪ̯t maxt ˈdiːbə]

/[ɡəˈleːɡn̩haɪ̯t maxt ˈdiːbə]/ phrase

The verdict

“Gelegenheit macht Diebe” 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
23
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - günstige Umstände, direkte Möglichkeiten, die sich einem bieten, können zu illegalen oder unerwünschten, unvernünftigen Handlungen verleiten

Key facts for Gelegenheit macht Diebe
PropertyValue
HeadwordGelegenheit macht Diebe
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ɡəˈleːɡn̩haɪ̯t maxt ˈdiːbə]
Letters23
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Gelegenheit macht Diebe” sits in German frequency

Gelegenheit macht Diebe 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 Gelegenheit macht Diebe is 23 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɡəˈleːɡn̩haɪ̯t maxt ˈdiːbə]. 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: "günstige Umstände, direkte Möglichkeiten, die sich einem bieten, können zu illegalen oder unerwünschten, unvernünftigen Handlungen verleiten".

No misspelling variants are generated for Gelegenheit macht Diebe 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 Gelegenheit macht Diebe, spelled G-E-L-E-G-E-N-H-E-I-T- -M-A-C-H-T- -D-I-E-B-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    günstige Umstände, direkte Möglichkeiten, die sich einem bieten, können zu illegalen oder unerwünschten, unvernünftigen Handlungen verleiten

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.

Cite this page

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

PlainSpell, “Gelegenheit macht Diebe, 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/gelegenheit-macht-diebe

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Gelegenheit macht Diebe"?
"Gelegenheit macht Diebe" is spelled G-E-L-E-G-E-N-H-E-I-T- -M-A-C-H-T- -D-I-E-B-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ɡəˈleːɡn̩haɪ̯t maxt ˈdiːbə].
What does "Gelegenheit macht Diebe" mean?
As a phrase, "Gelegenheit macht Diebe" means: günstige Umstände, direkte Möglichkeiten, die sich einem bieten, können zu illegalen oder unerwünschten, unvernünftigen Handlungen verleiten
How do you pronounce "Gelegenheit macht Diebe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Gelegenheit macht Diebe" is [ɡəˈleːɡn̩haɪ̯t maxt ˈdiːbə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Gelegenheit macht Diebe" come from?
"Gelegenheit macht Diebe" 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 “Gelegenheit macht Diebe”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is G-E-L-E-G-E-N-H-E-I-T- -M-A-C-H-T- -D-I-E-B-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ɡəˈleːɡn̩haɪ̯t maxt ˈdiːbə] (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