Gretchenfrage
German, noun/ˈɡʁeːtçənˌfʁaːɡə/
Gretchenfrage is spelled G-R-E-T-C-H-E-N-F-R-A-G-E (13 letters) and appears about once in every 5 million words in written German, the 111,951st most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Gretchenfrage is a German feminine noun meaning “a question as to the addressee's religiosity or belief in God” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “die Frage, die Gretchen dem Faust in Vers 3415 von Faust I stellt”.
What does Gretchenfrage mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininea question as to the addressee's religiosity or belief in God
- 2
femininea question that goes to the core of an issue, especially by exposing fundamental conflicts
- 3
femininea crucial question that is difficult or unpleasant to answer truthfully
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. die Frage, die Gretchen dem Faust in Vers 3415 von Faust I stellt 2. eine schwerwiegende, bedeutsame Frage 3. Frage, deren Inhalt sich auf Religion bezieht 4. Fangfrage/Frage, die zu einer klaren Entscheidung und zu einem deutlichen Bekenntnis auffordert
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 Gretchenfrage
- Gretchenfragen plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Gretchenfrage?
- /ˈɡʁeːtçənˌfʁaːɡə/
- [ˈɡʁeːtçənˌfʁaːɡə]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is Gretchenfrage in German?
Gretchenfrage appears about once in every 5 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).