obskur

[ɔpsˈkuːɐ̯]

/[ɔpsˈkuːɐ̯]/ adj

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

The verdict

“obskur” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - anrüchig, von schlechtem Ruf

Corpus desk

Index DE-obskur · obskur · German

obskur · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "O" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for obskur
PropertyValue
Headwordobskur
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ɔpsˈkuːɐ̯]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “obskur” sits in German frequency

obskur 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.

Rare enough to double-check

obskur is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ɔpsˈkuːɐ̯]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for obskur, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No documented word history exists for this headword, 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 obskur, spelled O-B-S-K-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    anrüchig, von schlechtem Ruf
  2. 2
    unbekannt, mysteriös

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Er kaufte bei obskuren Händlern anstatt bei welchen, die die Gewähr für die Echtheit und Qualität der Waren bieten konnten.
  2. „Soziale Netzwerke erleichtern die Verbreitung solcher obskuren Verschwörungserzählungen.“

Synonyms

zweifelhaftdubiosundefiniertunklarversteckt

Antonyms

vertrauenswürdigvertrauenerweckendbekannteindeutigoffenklar

This word in other languages

dubious(English)louche(Français)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "obskur"?
"obskur" is spelled O-B-S-K-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ɔpsˈkuːɐ̯].
What does "obskur" mean?
As an adjective, "obskur" means: anrüchig, von schlechtem Ruf
How do you pronounce "obskur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obskur" is [ɔpsˈkuːɐ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "obskur" come from?
"obskur" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

What to do next

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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