nicht nur … sondern auch

[nɪçt nuːɐ̯ … ˈzɔndɐn aʊ̯x]

/[nɪçt nuːɐ̯ … ˈzɔndɐn aʊ̯x]/ phrase

The verdict

“nicht nur … sondern auch” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
24
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - nicht bloß … vielmehr

Key facts for nicht nur … sondern auch
PropertyValue
Headwordnicht nur … sondern auch
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[nɪçt nuːɐ̯ … ˈzɔndɐn aʊ̯x]
Letters24
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nicht nur … sondern auch” sits in German frequency

nicht nur … sondern auch falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for nicht nur … sondern auch is 24 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [nɪçt nuːɐ̯ … ˈzɔndɐn aʊ̯x]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "nicht bloß … vielmehr".

No misspelling variants are generated for nicht nur … sondern auch in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is nicht nur … sondern auch, spelled N-I-C-H-T- -N-U-R- -…- -S-O-N-D-E-R-N- -A-U-C-H, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    nicht bloß … vielmehr

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “nicht nur … sondern auch, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/nicht-nur-sondern-auch

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nicht nur … sondern auch"?
"nicht nur … sondern auch" is spelled N-I-C-H-T- -N-U-R- -…- -S-O-N-D-E-R-N- -A-U-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is [nɪçt nuːɐ̯ … ˈzɔndɐn aʊ̯x].
What does "nicht nur … sondern auch" mean?
As a phrase, "nicht nur … sondern auch" means: nicht bloß … vielmehr
How do you pronounce "nicht nur … sondern auch"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nicht nur … sondern auch" is [nɪçt nuːɐ̯ … ˈzɔndɐn aʊ̯x]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nicht nur … sondern auch" come from?
"nicht nur … sondern auch" 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 “nicht nur … sondern auch”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is N-I-C-H-T- -N-U-R- -…- -S-O-N-D-E-R-N- -A-U-C-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [nɪçt nuːɐ̯ … ˈzɔndɐn aʊ̯x] (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

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter N in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

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