Milieu
German, noun/miˈli̯øː/
Milieu is spelled M-I-L-I-E-U (6 letters) and appears 4.7 times per million words in written German, the 12,890th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Milieu is a German neuter noun meaning “atmosphere, ambiance, environment, setting (in general)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “Gesamtheit der natürlichen und sozialen Lebensverhältnisse”.
What does Milieu mean in English?
noun
- 1
neuteratmosphere, ambiance, environment, setting (in general)
das pittoreske Milieu der Heimatfilme
- 2
neutera specific social environment or setting
das Milieu der Schönen und Reichen
- 3
neuterunderworld; demimonde; world of crime, drugs, and/or prostitution
Die polizeilichen Ermittlungen führten ins Frankfurter Milieu.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Gesamtheit der natürlichen und sozialen Lebensverhältnisse 2. Lebensumfeld eines Lebewesens 3. abwertend: im Umfeld des Personals der Prostitution
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of Milieu
- Milieus genitive
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Milieu?
- /miˈli̯øː/
- [mɪlˈjøː]
- [mi.liˈøː]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to Milieu
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is Milieu in German?
Milieu appears 4.7 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).