kryptisch

[ˈkʁʏptɪʃ]

/[ˈkʁʏptɪʃ]/ adj

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

The verdict

“kryptisch” is uncommon German (frequency #75,891 among 4,158 “K” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,891
frequency rank, German
4,158
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - unverständlich oder unklar in der Ausdrucksweise oder Darstellung

Corpus desk

Index DE-kryptisch · kryptisch · German

kryptisch · rank #75,891 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,891
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,158
  • PHOTO-FINISH Krux

Nearest frequency peer: Krux (-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 „kryptisch“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kryptisch
PropertyValue
Headwordkryptisch
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈkʁʏptɪʃ]
Letters9
Frequency rank#75,891
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „kryptisch“ im Deutschen

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).kryptischfällt 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: „Krux“ (#75,890), „Kriegsgefahr“ (#75,889), „kulturpolitische“ (#75,894). Unter 4,158 „K“-Lemmata liegt „kryptisch“ bei #75,891. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kryptisch is uncommon German at frequency #75,891 among 4,158 “K” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈkʁʏptɪʃ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

kryptisch doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is kryptisch, spelled K-R-Y-P-T-I-S-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    unverständlich oder unklar in der Ausdrucksweise oder Darstellung
  2. 2
    verschlüsselt im Sinne der in der Informationstechnik angewandten Kryptologie

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Doch als sogar die Mitglieder des bisher extrem regimetreuen Uneac-Schriftstellerverbandes vergangenen April den kryptischen Satz wagten, „unterschiedliche Standpunkte stehen keineswegs im Gegensatz zur ideologisch notwendigen Homogenität“, ließ sich die Fliehkraft, die diesem Experiment innewohnt, erahnen.
  2. Der Staatsanwalt, Georg Krakow, ist dann selbst als Zeuge geladen. Aus seinen wenigen, kryptischen Worten kann man indirekt herausfiltern, dass er keinen schriftlichen Auftrag erteilt hat.

Synonyms

verborgengeheimnisvollmysteriösobskurunklarunverständlichvageverdecktverhülltverklausuliertverwirrendschwammigverschlüsseltgeheim

Antonyms

deutlicherhellendoffenpräziseverständlich

This word in other languages

cryptic(English)críptico(Español)abscons(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 "kryptisch"?
"kryptisch" is spelled K-R-Y-P-T-I-S-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈkʁʏptɪʃ].
What does "kryptisch" mean?
As an adjective, "kryptisch" means: unverständlich oder unklar in der Ausdrucksweise oder Darstellung
How do you pronounce "kryptisch"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kryptisch" is [ˈkʁʏptɪʃ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "kryptisch" come from?
"kryptisch" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

Konkordat#75,875Konfusion#75,874langlebig#75,909Lebensmut#75,915

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list