Kleider machen Leute

[ˈklaɪ̯dɐ ˌmaxn̩ ˈlɔɪ̯tə]

/[ˈklaɪ̯dɐ ˌmaxn̩ ˈlɔɪ̯tə]/ phrase

The verdict

“Kleider machen Leute” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
20
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — Überzeugungen über innere Werte, Moralvorstellungen und Charakter, die sich eine Person bildet, wenn sie das äußeres Erscheinungsbild einer anderen Person betrachtet (genauer: deren passende oder u...

Key facts for Kleider machen Leute
PropertyValue
HeadwordKleider machen Leute
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˈklaɪ̯dɐ ˌmaxn̩ ˈlɔɪ̯tə]
Letters20
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Kleider machen Leute” sits in German frequency

Kleider machen Leute falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Kleider machen Leute is 20 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈklaɪ̯dɐ ˌmaxn̩ ˈlɔɪ̯tə]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Überzeugungen über innere Werte, Moralvorstellungen und Charakter, die sich eine Person bildet, wenn sie das äußeres Erscheinungsbild einer anderen Person betrachtet (genauer: deren passende oder u...".

No misspelling variants are generated for Kleider machen Leute in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is Kleider machen Leute, spelled K-L-E-I-D-E-R- -M-A-C-H-E-N- -L-E-U-T-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Überzeugungen über innere Werte, Moralvorstellungen und Charakter, die sich eine Person bildet, wenn sie das äußeres Erscheinungsbild einer anderen Person betrachtet (genauer: deren passende oder unpassende Bekleidung)

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “Kleider machen Leute, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/kleider-machen-leute

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Kleider machen Leute"?
"Kleider machen Leute" is spelled K-L-E-I-D-E-R- -M-A-C-H-E-N- -L-E-U-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈklaɪ̯dɐ ˌmaxn̩ ˈlɔɪ̯tə].
What does "Kleider machen Leute" mean?
As a phrase, "Kleider machen Leute" means: Überzeugungen über innere Werte, Moralvorstellungen und Charakter, die sich eine Person bildet, wenn sie das äußeres Erscheinungsbild einer anderen Person betrachtet (genauer: deren passende oder u...
How do you pronounce "Kleider machen Leute"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Kleider machen Leute" is [ˈklaɪ̯dɐ ˌmaxn̩ ˈlɔɪ̯tə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Kleider machen Leute" come from?
"Kleider machen Leute" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “Kleider machen Leute”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is K-L-E-I-D-E-R- -M-A-C-H-E-N- -L-E-U-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈklaɪ̯dɐ ˌmaxn̩ ˈlɔɪ̯tə] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter K in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list