heimlich
German, adjective/ˈhaɪ̯mlɪç/
heimlich is spelled H-E-I-M-L-I-C-H (8 letters) and appears 14 times per million words in written German, the 5,360th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Heimlich is a German adjective meaning “secret, clandestine (done or kept in secret)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “im Verborgenen, ohne das Wissen anderer”.
What does heimlich mean in English?
adjective
- 1
secret, clandestine (done or kept in secret)
- 2
archaicquiet, silent
- 3
archaicsynonym of einheimisch (“native”)
- 4
archaicsynonym of traulich (“homely, cosy”)
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. im Verborgenen, ohne das Wissen anderer
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 heimlich
- heimlicher masculine nominative singular
- am heimlichsten superlative
- heimliche feminine nominative singular
- heimliches neuter nominative singular
- heimlichen genitive masculine singular
- heimlichem dative masculine singular
- der heimliche definite includes-article masculine
- die heimliche definite feminine includes-article
- das heimliche definite includes-article neuter
- die heimlichen definite includes-article nominative
- des heimlichen definite genitive includes-article
- der heimlichen definite feminine genitive
- dem heimlichen dative definite includes-article
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce heimlich?
- /ˈhaɪ̯mlɪç/
- /ˈhaɪ̯mlɪk/
- [ˈhaɪ̯mlɪç]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to heimlich
- underground
- secretly
- undercover
- clandestine
- stealthy
- surreptitiously
- stealthily
- furtive
- underhand
- underhanded
- clandestinely
- surreptitious
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is heimlich in German?
heimlich appears 14 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).