knifflige

[ˈknɪflɪɡə]

/[ˈknɪflɪɡə]/ adj

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

The verdict

“knifflige” is uncommon German (frequency #66,394 among 4,158 “K” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,394
frequency rank, German
4,158
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig

Corpus desk

Index DE-knifflige · knifflige · German

knifflige · rank #66,394 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,394
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,158
  • PHOTO-FINISH kneift

Nearest frequency peer: kneift (-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 „knifflige“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for knifflige
PropertyValue
Headwordknifflige
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈknɪflɪɡə]
Letters9
Frequency rank#66,394
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „knifflige“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.kniffligefällt 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: „kneift“ (#66,393), „Kochsalz“ (#66,395), „knackiger“ (#66,392). Unter 4,158 „K“-Lemmata liegt „knifflige“ bei #66,394. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

knifflige is uncommon German at frequency #66,394 among 4,158 “K” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈknɪflɪɡə]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for knifflige, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is knifflige, spelled K-N-I-F-F-L-I-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
  2. 2
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
  3. 3
    Nominativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
  4. 4
    Akkusativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
  5. 5
    Nominativ Singular alle Genera der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
  6. 6
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
  7. 7
    Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
  8. 8
    Nominativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
  9. 9
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig

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 "knifflige"?
"knifflige" is spelled K-N-I-F-F-L-I-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈknɪflɪɡə].
What does "knifflige" mean?
As an adjective, "knifflige" means: Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs knifflig
How do you pronounce "knifflige"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "knifflige" is [ˈknɪflɪɡə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "knifflige" come from?
"knifflige" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "knifflige", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

knackiger#66,392Konsulate#66,403Kratzbaum#66,408Kreissäge#66,410

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list