Höflichkeit
German, noun[ˈhøːflɪçkaɪ̯t]
Höflichkeit is spelled H-Ö-F-L-I-C-H-K-E-I-T (11 letters) and appears 3.4 times per million words in written German, the 16,394th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Höflichkeit is a German feminine noun meaning “courtesy, politeness, courtliness (the state of being polite)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “distanzierte, formale Freundlichkeit; Respekt von einer Person zu einer anderen”.
What does Höflichkeit mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininecourtesy, politeness, courtliness (the state of being polite)
- 2
femininecourtesy, politeness (an act of politeness)
sie tauschten Höflichkeiten aus
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. distanzierte, formale Freundlichkeit; Respekt von einer Person zu einer anderen 2. eine höfliche Geste oder Floskel
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 Höflichkeit
- Höflichkeiten plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Höflichkeit?
- [ˈhøːflɪçkaɪ̯t]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to Höflichkeit
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is Höflichkeit in German?
Höflichkeit appears 3.4 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).