jovial

[joˈvi̯aːl]

/[joˈvi̯aːl]/ adj

The verdict

“jovial” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - im Umgang mit anderen Personen freundlich und entgegenkommend, dies aber auf eine betonte Art, die gönnerhaft oder herablassend wirken kann

Corpus desk

Index DE-jovial · jovial · German

jovial · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "J" 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 jovial
PropertyValue
Headwordjovial
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[joˈvi̯aːl]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „jovial“ im Deutschen

jovialschafft 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

jovial is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [joˈvi̯aːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "im Umgang mit anderen Personen freundlich und entgegenkommend, dies aber auf eine betonte Art, die gönnerhaft oder herablassend wirken kann".

jovial has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, 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 jovial, spelled J-O-V-I-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    im Umgang mit anderen Personen freundlich und entgegenkommend, dies aber auf eine betonte Art, die gönnerhaft oder herablassend wirken kann

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Unser Chef klopfte dem neuen Mitarbeiter gleich jovial auf die Schulter.
  2. „Lächeln von süßsauer bis jovial eroberte die Gesichter.“

This word in other languages

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 "jovial"?
"jovial" is spelled J-O-V-I-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [joˈvi̯aːl].
What does "jovial" mean?
As an adjective, "jovial" means: im Umgang mit anderen Personen freundlich und entgegenkommend, dies aber auf eine betonte Art, die gönnerhaft oder herablassend wirken kann
How do you pronounce "jovial"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jovial" is [joˈvi̯aːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "jovial" come from?
"jovial" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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