however

[hɑʊˈεvə(ɹ)]

/[hɑʊˈεvə(ɹ)]/ adv

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

The verdict

“however” is uncommon German (frequency #55,422 among 3,372 “H” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,422
frequency rank, German
3,372
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - trotzdem, eine Einräumung

Corpus desk

Index DE-however · however · German

however · rank #55,422 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,422
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,372
  • PHOTO-FINISH Hostels

Nearest frequency peer: Hostels (-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 „however“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for however
PropertyValue
Headwordhowever
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[hɑʊˈεvə(ɹ)]
Letters7
Frequency rank#55,422
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „however“ im Deutschen

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).howeverfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Hostels“ (#55,421), „HSS“ (#55,423), „huge“ (#55,425). Unter 3,372 „H“-Lemmata liegt „however“ bei #55,422. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

however is uncommon German at frequency #55,422 among 3,372 “H” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed [hɑʊˈεvə(ɹ)]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for however, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is however, spelled H-O-W-E-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    trotzdem, eine Einräumung
  2. 2
    Verstärkung des Fragewortes wie, hauptsächlich Britisch
  3. 3
    egal, unabhängig
  4. 4
    egal, unabhängig
  5. 5
    egal, unabhängig

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. OK, we have no car any more, no more money and no cell phone; however, we will have a lot of fun tonight.
  2. "She tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience, when he should have done."

Synonyms

be that as it mayin spite of thatneverthelessthoughin what wayhowwhatever

This word in other languages

cependant(Français)

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 "however"?
"however" is spelled H-O-W-E-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [hɑʊˈεvə(ɹ)].
What does "however" mean?
As an adverb, "however" means: trotzdem, eine Einräumung
How do you pronounce "however"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "however" is [hɑʊˈεvə(ɹ)]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "however" come from?
"however" 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 "however", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Hostels#55,421January#55,447Jordans#55,451gerahmt#55,356

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list