halbstark

[ˈhalpˌʃtaʁk]

/[ˈhalpˌʃtaʁk]/ adj

The verdict

“halbstark” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. 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) - umgangssprachlich, abwertend: (in Bezug auf Jugendliche, Gruppen von Jugendlichen) mit lautem, aggressivem, provozierendem öffentlichen Auftreten

Corpus desk

Index DE-halbstark · halbstark · German

halbstark · 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 "H" 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 halbstark
PropertyValue
Headwordhalbstark
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈhalpˌʃtaʁk]
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „halbstark“ im Deutschen

halbstarkschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

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

Rare enough to double-check

halbstark is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈhalpˌʃtaʁk]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "umgangssprachlich, abwertend: (in Bezug auf Jugendliche, Gruppen von Jugendlichen) mit lautem, aggressivem, provozierendem öffentlichen Auftreten".

halbstark doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, 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 halbstark, spelled H-A-L-B-S-T-A-R-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    umgangssprachlich, abwertend: (in Bezug auf Jugendliche, Gruppen von Jugendlichen) mit lautem, aggressivem, provozierendem öffentlichen Auftreten

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. „Die Schülerschaft, die sich aufmüpfig und halbstark, lieb und entzückend, wissbegierig und bocklos zu Wort meldet, wirkte in Matthes Interpretation sämtlich debil, grölte so tumb herum, wie garantiert noch nie ein Kind geklungen hat.“

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 "halbstark"?
"halbstark" is spelled H-A-L-B-S-T-A-R-K. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈhalpˌʃtaʁk].
What does "halbstark" mean?
As an adjective, "halbstark" means: umgangssprachlich, abwertend: (in Bezug auf Jugendliche, Gruppen von Jugendlichen) mit lautem, aggressivem, provozierendem öffentlichen Auftreten
How do you pronounce "halbstark"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "halbstark" is [ˈhalpˌʃtaʁk]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "halbstark" come from?
"halbstark" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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