peinlich
German, adjective/ˈpaɪ̯nˌlɪç/
peinlich is spelled P-E-I-N-L-I-C-H (8 letters) and appears 22 times per million words in written German, the 3,577th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Peinlich is a German adjective meaning “woeful, hurtful” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “beschämend, unangenehm”.
What does peinlich mean in English?
adjective
- 1
woeful, hurtful
- 2
archaicpenal, applying criminal law, having to do with jurisprudence competent for capital punishment
- 3
archaicpertaining to or containing torture
ein peinliches Verhör
- 4
embarrassing, cringeworthy, or otherwise awkward, perverse, adverse, untoward
Es gab eine peinliche Stille.
- 5
obsoletecrotchety, truculent
- 6
meticulous
Regeln peinlich genau beachten
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. beschämend, unangenehm 2. Körperstrafen, speziell die Folter betreffend 3. sehr genau, pedantisch
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of peinlich
- peinlicher masculine nominative singular
- am peinlichsten superlative
- peinliche feminine nominative singular
- peinliches neuter nominative singular
- peinlichen genitive masculine singular
- peinlichem dative masculine singular
- der peinliche definite includes-article masculine
- die peinliche definite feminine includes-article
- das peinliche definite includes-article neuter
- die peinlichen definite includes-article nominative
- des peinlichen definite genitive includes-article
- der peinlichen definite feminine genitive
- dem peinlichen dative definite includes-article
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce peinlich?
- /ˈpaɪ̯nˌlɪç/
- [ˈpaɪ̯nˌlɪç]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to peinlich
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is peinlich in German?
peinlich appears 22 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).