Hauptmotiv

[ˈhaʊ̯ptmoˌtiːf]

/[ˈhaʊ̯ptmoˌtiːf]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Hauptmotiv” is uncommon German (frequency #73,591 among 3,372 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,591
frequency rank, German
3,372
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - zentraler, ausschlaggebender Anreiz oder Grund für eine Handlung, speziell für eine Straftat

Corpus desk

Index DE-hauptmotiv · Hauptmotiv · German

Hauptmotiv · rank #73,591 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #73,591
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,372
  • PHOTO-FINISH Hauptprobleme

Nearest frequency peer: Hauptprobleme (+1 rank slots)

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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „Hauptmotiv“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „Hauptmotiv“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Hauptmotiv
PropertyValue
HeadwordHauptmotiv
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈhaʊ̯ptmoˌtiːf]
Letters10
Frequency rank#73,591
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Hauptmotiv“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Hauptmotivfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Hauptprobleme“ (#73,592), „hauptsächlichen“ (#73,593), „Hefter“ (#73,594). Unter 3,372 „H“-Lemmata liegt „Hauptmotiv“ bei #73,591. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Hauptmotiv is uncommon German at frequency #73,591 among 3,372 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈhaʊ̯ptmoˌtiːf]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for Hauptmotiv in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is Hauptmotiv, spelled H-A-U-P-T-M-O-T-I-V.

Definition

  1. 1
    zentraler, ausschlaggebender Anreiz oder Grund für eine Handlung, speziell für eine Straftat
  2. 2
    zentraler, im Vordergrund stehender Gegenstand eines Kunstwerks

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „War das Hauptmotiv nun der Einbruch, die Vergewaltigung oder der Mord?“
  2. „›Als Frank heute Abend gefragt hat, welches die Hauptmotive für Mord seien, hat dich das nicht ins Grübeln gebracht, Vaughn?‹“

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 "Hauptmotiv"?
"Hauptmotiv" is spelled H-A-U-P-T-M-O-T-I-V. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈhaʊ̯ptmoˌtiːf].
What does "Hauptmotiv" mean?
As a noun, "Hauptmotiv" means: zentraler, ausschlaggebender Anreiz oder Grund für eine Handlung, speziell für eine Straftat
How do you pronounce "Hauptmotiv"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Hauptmotiv" is [ˈhaʊ̯ptmoˌtiːf]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Hauptmotiv" come from?
"Hauptmotiv" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Hauptmotiv", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Haaransatz#73,578Gundermann#73,572gruseliges#73,568Grenzlinie#73,558

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list