Oberlauf

[ˈoːbɐˌlaʊ̯f]

/[ˈoːbɐˌlaʊ̯f]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Oberlauf” is uncommon German (frequency #78,357 among 1,007 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,357
frequency rank, German
1,007
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Teil des Flusslaufs von seinem Anfang, in der Regel von der Quelle an

Corpus desk

Index DE-oberlauf · Oberlauf · German

Oberlauf · rank #78,357 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,357
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,007
  • PHOTO-FINISH Oberkirch

Nearest frequency peer: Oberkirch (-1 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 „Oberlauf“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Oberlauf
PropertyValue
HeadwordOberlauf
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈoːbɐˌlaʊ̯f]
Letters8
Frequency rank#78,357
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Oberlauf“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Oberlauffällt 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: „Oberkirch“ (#78,356), „Oberwesel“ (#78,358), „obliegen“ (#78,359). Unter 1,007 „O“-Lemmata liegt „Oberlauf“ bei #78,357. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Oberlauf is uncommon German at frequency #78,357 among 1,007 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈoːbɐˌlaʊ̯f]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Teil des Flusslaufs von seinem Anfang, in der Regel von der Quelle an".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Oberlauf, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, 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 Oberlauf, spelled O-B-E-R-L-A-U-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Teil des Flusslaufs von seinem Anfang, in der Regel von der Quelle an

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Der Oberlauf der Ahr zeigt hingegen einen ganz anderen Charakter.“
  2. „Von der Schelde-Mündung bis zum Oberlauf des Rheins gab es nun eine durchgehende Frontlinie.“

Antonyms

MittellaufUnterlauf

This word in other languages

headwater(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 "Oberlauf"?
"Oberlauf" is spelled O-B-E-R-L-A-U-F. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈoːbɐˌlaʊ̯f].
What does "Oberlauf" mean?
As a noun, "Oberlauf" means: Teil des Flusslaufs von seinem Anfang, in der Regel von der Quelle an
How do you pronounce "Oberlauf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Oberlauf" is [ˈoːbɐˌlaʊ̯f]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Oberlauf" come from?
"Oberlauf" 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 "Oberlauf", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

obliegen#78,359notgeile#78,349normativ#78,348Passhöhe#78,381

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list