passé

[ˌpaˈseː]

/[ˌpaˈseː]/ adj

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

The verdict

“passé” is uncommon German (frequency #52,317 among 49,534 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,317
frequency rank, German
49,534
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - der Vergangenheit angehörend, nicht mehr zeitgemäß

Key facts for passé
PropertyValue
Headwordpassé
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˌpaˈseː]
Letters5
Frequency rank#52,317
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “passé” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). passé lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

passé is uncommon German at frequency #52,317 among 49,534 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˌpaˈseː]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "der Vergangenheit angehörend, nicht mehr zeitgemäß".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for passé, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is passé, spelled P-A-S-S-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    der Vergangenheit angehörend, nicht mehr zeitgemäß

Synonyms

vergangenvorbeivorüber

This word in other languages

past(English)passé(Français)

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 "passé"?
"passé" is spelled P-A-S-S-É. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌpaˈseː].
What does "passé" mean?
As an adjective, "passé" means: der Vergangenheit angehörend, nicht mehr zeitgemäß
How do you pronounce "passé"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "passé" is [ˌpaˈseː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "passé" come from?
"passé" 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 “passé”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is P-A-S-S-É - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˌpaˈseː] (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

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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