Paternoster

[patɐˈnɔstɐ]

/[patɐˈnɔstɐ]/ noun

The verdict

“Paternoster” is uncommon German (frequency #89,402 among 3,409 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,402
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - wichtigstes Gebet des Christentums

Corpus desk

Index DE-paternoster · Paternoster · German

Paternoster · rank #89,402 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,402
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH password

Nearest frequency peer: password (-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 „Paternoster“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Paternoster
PropertyValue
HeadwordPaternoster
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[patɐˈnɔstɐ]
Letters11
Frequency rank#89,402
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Paternoster“ im Deutschen

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Paternosterfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „password“ (#89,401), „passing“ (#89,400), „Passform“ (#89,399). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „Paternoster“ bei #89,402. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Paternoster is uncommon German at frequency #89,402 among 3,409 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [patɐˈnɔstɐ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for Paternoster in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Paternoster, spelled P-A-T-E-R-N-O-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    wichtigstes Gebet des Christentums
  2. 2
    mit Perlen besetzte Zählkette, die beim Rosenkranzgebet genutzt wird

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Das Paternoster ist fester Bestandteil jedes Gottesdienstes.
  2. „Sie sagten, selbst wenn sie ihre Rollen wüßten wie das Paternoster, würden sie sie gewiß vergessen, wenn sie ihn nicht in seinem Loch sähen.“

Synonyms

Vater unserRosenkranz

This word in other languages

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 "Paternoster"?
"Paternoster" is spelled P-A-T-E-R-N-O-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [patɐˈnɔstɐ].
What does "Paternoster" mean?
As a noun, "Paternoster" means: wichtigstes Gebet des Christentums
How do you pronounce "Paternoster"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Paternoster" is [patɐˈnɔstɐ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Paternoster" come from?
"Paternoster" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Paternoster", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list