Kulturschock

[kʊlˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃɔk]

/[kʊlˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃɔk]/ noun

The verdict

“Kulturschock” is uncommon German (frequency #60,766 among 55,078 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,766
frequency rank, German
55,078
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - große Überraschung/Widerstand, ausgelöst durch die Konfrontation mit von den eigenen abweichenden kulturellen Eigenheiten

Key facts for Kulturschock
PropertyValue
HeadwordKulturschock
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[kʊlˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃɔk]
Letters12
Frequency rank#60,766
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Kulturschock” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Kulturschock lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Kulturschock is uncommon German at frequency #60,766 among 55,078 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [kʊlˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃɔk]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "große Überraschung/Widerstand, ausgelöst durch die Konfrontation mit von den eigenen abweichenden kulturellen Eigenheiten".

No misspelling variants are generated for Kulturschock in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, 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 Kulturschock, spelled K-U-L-T-U-R-S-C-H-O-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    große Überraschung/Widerstand, ausgelöst durch die Konfrontation mit von den eigenen abweichenden kulturellen Eigenheiten

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); 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 "Kulturschock"?
"Kulturschock" is spelled K-U-L-T-U-R-S-C-H-O-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is [kʊlˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃɔk].
What does "Kulturschock" mean?
As a noun, "Kulturschock" means: große Überraschung/Widerstand, ausgelöst durch die Konfrontation mit von den eigenen abweichenden kulturellen Eigenheiten
How do you pronounce "Kulturschock"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Kulturschock" is [kʊlˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃɔk]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Kulturschock" come from?
"Kulturschock" 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.

Using “Kulturschock”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is K-U-L-T-U-R-S-C-H-O-C-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [kʊlˈtuːɐ̯ˌʃɔk] (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

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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