ordinal

[ɔʁdiˈnaːl]

/[ɔʁdiˈnaːl]/ adj

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency German
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - einzelne Elemente einer bestimmten Reihenfolge zuordnend, einen bestimmten Platz in einer Reihe zuweisend

Corpus desk

Index DE-ordinal · ordinal · German

ordinal · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 ordinal
PropertyValue
Headwordordinal
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ɔʁdiˈnaːl]
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „ordinal“ im Deutschen

ordinalliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

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

Rare enough to double-check

ordinal is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ɔʁdiˈnaːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "einzelne Elemente einer bestimmten Reihenfolge zuordnend, einen bestimmten Platz in einer Reihe zuweisend".

ordinal has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, 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 ordinal, spelled O-R-D-I-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    einzelne Elemente einer bestimmten Reihenfolge zuordnend, einen bestimmten Platz in einer Reihe zuweisend

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Bei ordinal skalierten Variablen kann man zwischen den Ausprägungen eine Rangordnung festlegen. Ein gängiges Beispiel sind etwa Schulnoten […]“
  2. „Ordinale Variablen treten beispielsweise bei Einstellungsmessungen (Zufriedenheit oder Vertrauen) und bei Präferenzbeurteilungen auf.“

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ordinal"?
"ordinal" is spelled O-R-D-I-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ɔʁdiˈnaːl].
What does "ordinal" mean?
As an adjective, "ordinal" means: einzelne Elemente einer bestimmten Reihenfolge zuordnend, einen bestimmten Platz in einer Reihe zuweisend
How do you pronounce "ordinal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ordinal" is [ɔʁdiˈnaːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ordinal" come from?
"ordinal" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list