pastoral

[pastoˈʁaːl]

/[pastoˈʁaːl]/ adj

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

The verdict

“pastoral” is uncommon German (frequency #70,657 among 49,534 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,657
frequency rank, German
49,534
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - in der Art eines Pastors, den Pastoren, sein Amt, seine Tätigkeit betreffend

Key facts for pastoral
PropertyValue
Headwordpastoral
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[pastoˈʁaːl]
Letters8
Frequency rank#70,657
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pastoral” 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). pastoral 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

pastoral is uncommon German at frequency #70,657 among 49,534 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [pastoˈʁaːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pastoral, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. 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 its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is pastoral, spelled P-A-S-T-O-R-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    in der Art eines Pastors, den Pastoren, sein Amt, seine Tätigkeit betreffend
  2. 2
    feierlich, würdig
  3. 3
    ländlich, idyllisch

Synonyms

pfarramtlichseelsorgerischfeierlichwürdigländlichidyllisch

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 "pastoral"?
"pastoral" is spelled P-A-S-T-O-R-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [pastoˈʁaːl].
What does "pastoral" mean?
As an adjective, "pastoral" means: in der Art eines Pastors, den Pastoren, sein Amt, seine Tätigkeit betreffend
How do you pronounce "pastoral"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pastoral" is [pastoˈʁaːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pastoral" come from?
"pastoral" 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 “pastoral”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is P-A-S-T-O-R-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [pastoˈʁaːl] (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