per se
[pɛʁ ˈzeː]
The verdict
“per se” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - aus sich heraus, durch sich selbst, von selbst
Corpus desk
Index DE-per-se · per se · German
per se · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | per se |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| IPA | [pɛʁ ˈzeː] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „per se“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
per se is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [pɛʁ ˈzeː]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
per se has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is per se, spelled P-E-R- -S-E.
Definition
- 1aus sich heraus, durch sich selbst, von selbst
- 2im Grunde, genau genommen, für sich allein
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how per se appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Dieses Vorhaben ist per se schon unmöglich umzusetzen.
„Er verläßt sich auf eine automatische Wirksamkeit des Geistes, also darauf, daß die menschliche Intelligenz auf Wissensakkumulation angelegt ist und über eine Diffusion des Wissens per se Fortschritte der Zivilisation bewirkt.“
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.