mädchenhaft

[ˈmɛːtçənhaft]

/[ˈmɛːtçənhaft]/ adj

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

The verdict

“mädchenhaft” is an uncommon German word, ranked #85,612 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.

#85,612
frequency rank, German
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - wie ein Mädchen, in der Art eines Mädchens

Key facts for mädchenhaft
PropertyValue
Headwordmädchenhaft
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈmɛːtçənhaft]
Letters11
Frequency rank#85,612
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mädchenhaft” 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). mädchenhaft lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for mädchenhaft is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈmɛːtçənhaft]. Corpus data places it at rank #85,612 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "wie ein Mädchen, in der Art eines Mädchens".

No misspelling variants are generated for mädchenhaft in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is mädchenhaft, spelled M-Ä-D-C-H-E-N-H-A-F-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    wie ein Mädchen, in der Art eines Mädchens

This word in other languages

girlish(English)

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 "mädchenhaft"?
"mädchenhaft" is spelled M-Ä-D-C-H-E-N-H-A-F-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈmɛːtçənhaft].
What does "mädchenhaft" mean?
As an adjective, "mädchenhaft" means: wie ein Mädchen, in der Art eines Mädchens
How do you pronounce "mädchenhaft"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mädchenhaft" is [ˈmɛːtçənhaft]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mädchenhaft" come from?
"mädchenhaft" 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 “mädchenhaft”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is M-Ä-D-C-H-E-N-H-A-F-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈmɛːtçənhaft] (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
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