messerscharf

[ˈmɛsɐˌʃaʁf]

/[ˈmɛsɐˌʃaʁf]/ adj

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

The verdict

“messerscharf” is uncommon German (frequency #86,800 among 3,571 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,800
frequency rank, German
3,571
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - scharf, wie die Klinge eines Messers

Corpus desk

Index DE-messerscharf · messerscharf · German

messerscharf · rank #86,800 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,800
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,571
  • PHOTO-FINISH mente

Nearest frequency peer: mente (-2 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 „messerscharf“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for messerscharf
PropertyValue
Headwordmesserscharf
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈmɛsɐˌʃaʁf]
Letters12
Frequency rank#86,800
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „messerscharf“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).messerscharffällt 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: „mente“ (#86,798), „metallischer“ (#86,802), „mentales“ (#86,797). Unter 3,571 „M“-Lemmata liegt „messerscharf“ bei #86,800. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

messerscharf is uncommon German at frequency #86,800 among 3,571 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈmɛsɐˌʃaʁf]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

messerscharf has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is messerscharf, spelled M-E-S-S-E-R-S-C-H-A-R-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    scharf, wie die Klinge eines Messers
  2. 2
    mit einem schnellen, beweglichen Geist

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Boden war übersät mit messerscharfen Splittern.
  2. „Und Entsetzen drang mit grellen Bildern wie messerscharfe Glasscherben auf sie ein.“

Synonyms

scharfsinnig

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 "messerscharf"?
"messerscharf" is spelled M-E-S-S-E-R-S-C-H-A-R-F. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈmɛsɐˌʃaʁf].
What does "messerscharf" mean?
As an adjective, "messerscharf" means: scharf, wie die Klinge eines Messers
How do you pronounce "messerscharf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "messerscharf" is [ˈmɛsɐˌʃaʁf]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "messerscharf" come from?
"messerscharf" 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 "messerscharf", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

metallischer#86,802Menschenkind#86,796Meisterbrief#86,792Missgeburten#86,810

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list