perplex

[pɛʁˈplɛks]

/[pɛʁˈplɛks]/ adj

The verdict

“perplex” is uncommon German (frequency #54,792 among 3,409 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,792
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - überrascht und/oder verwirrt

Corpus desk

Index DE-perplex · perplex · German

perplex · rank #54,792 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,792
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH peruanischen

Nearest frequency peer: peruanischen (+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 „perplex“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for perplex
PropertyValue
Headwordperplex
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[pɛʁˈplɛks]
Letters7
Frequency rank#54,792
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „perplex“ im Deutschen

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

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „peruanischen“ (#54,793), „Pfennige“ (#54,794), „Pedelecs“ (#54,789). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „perplex“ bei #54,792. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

perplex is uncommon German at frequency #54,792 among 3,409 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [pɛʁˈplɛks]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "überrascht und/oder verwirrt".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for perplex, 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 usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is perplex, spelled P-E-R-P-L-E-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    überrascht und/oder verwirrt

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. „Das habe ich jetzt aber nicht erwartet“, flüsterte sie perplex.

Synonyms

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 "perplex"?
"perplex" is spelled P-E-R-P-L-E-X. The IPA pronunciation is [pɛʁˈplɛks].
What does "perplex" mean?
As an adjective, "perplex" means: überrascht und/oder verwirrt
How do you pronounce "perplex"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perplex" is [pɛʁˈplɛks]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "perplex" come from?
"perplex" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "perplex", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list