plötzlich

[ˈplœt͡slɪç]

/[ˈplœt͡slɪç]/ adj

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

The verdict

“plötzlich” has 15 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #839. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#839
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - unerwartet, überraschend, auf einen Schlag

Corpus desk

Index DE-plotzlich · plötzlich · German

plötzlich · rank #839 · 15 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #839
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH passt

Nearest frequency peer: passt (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „plötzlich“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „plötzlich“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

plötzlich vs plötzliche
90% similar
plötzlich vs plötzlichen
82% similar
plötzlich vs plötzlicher
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for plötzlich
PropertyValue
Headwordplötzlich
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈplœt͡slɪç]
Letters9
Frequency rank#839
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „plötzlich“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.plötzlichliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „passt“ (#838), „Region“ (#840), „Opfer“ (#837). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „plötzlich“ bei #839. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around plötzlich (IPA [ˈplœt͡slɪç]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #839 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "unerwartet, überraschend, auf einen Schlag".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for plötzlich, with forms such as "lpötzlich", "pllötzlich", and "pltözlich". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "plötzliche", "plötzlichen", "plötzlicher", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is plötzlich, spelled P-L-Ö-T-Z-L-I-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    unerwartet, überraschend, auf einen Schlag

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Plötzlich hörte der Motorflieger auf zu kreisen. In eine ganz andere Richtung ging es auf einmal.“
  2. Plötzlich kam ein alter Mann in den Laden.

Antonyms

allmählichgemächlichlangsam

This word in other languages

suddenly(English)de repente(Español)soudain(Français)repentinamente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpötzlich
  • pllötzlich
  • pltözlich
  • plötlzich
  • plöttzlich
  • plötzilch
  • plötzlcih
  • plötzlicch
  • plötzlichh
  • plötzlihc
  • plötzllich
  • plötzzlich
  • plöztlich
  • pplötzlich
  • pöltzlich

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plötzlich - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

lpötzlich2pllötzlich1pltözlich2plötlzich2plöttzlich1plötzilch2plötzlcih2plötzlicch1
Edit distance from "plötzlich"

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 "plötzlich"?
"plötzlich" is spelled P-L-Ö-T-Z-L-I-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈplœt͡slɪç].
What does "plötzlich" mean?
As an adjective, "plötzlich" means: unerwartet, überraschend, auf einen Schlag
What words are commonly confused with "plötzlich"?
"plötzlich" is commonly confused with "plötzliche", "plötzlichen", "plötzlicher". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "plötzlich"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plötzlich" is [ˈplœt͡slɪç]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "plötzlich" come from?
"plötzlich" 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 "plötzlich", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Situation#845erreichen#826Deutscher#853Interesse#814

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

Mitglieder15 variantsAusbildung15 variantspolitische15 variantsSicherheit15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list