Poltergeist

[ˈpɔltɐˌɡaɪ̯st]

/[ˈpɔltɐˌɡaɪ̯st]/ noun

The verdict

“Poltergeist” is uncommon German (frequency #81,993 among 3,409 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,993
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - ein fiktives Wesen, Geist, der in Häusern und Schlössern wohnt, dort — naturwissenschaftlich derzeit nicht erklärbar — herumpoltert, andere Geräusche erzeugt, elektrische Störungen hervorruft und G...

Corpus desk

Index DE-poltergeist · Poltergeist · German

Poltergeist · rank #81,993 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,993
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH polnischem

Nearest frequency peer: polnischem (-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 „Poltergeist“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Poltergeist
PropertyValue
HeadwordPoltergeist
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈpɔltɐˌɡaɪ̯st]
Letters11
Frequency rank#81,993
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Poltergeist“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Poltergeistfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „polnischem“ (#81,992), „Polyethylen“ (#81,994), „polarisierte“ (#81,991). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „Poltergeist“ bei #81,993. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Poltergeist is uncommon German at frequency #81,993 among 3,409 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈpɔltɐˌɡaɪ̯st]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Poltergeist doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Poltergeist, spelled P-O-L-T-E-R-G-E-I-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    ein fiktives Wesen, Geist, der in Häusern und Schlössern wohnt, dort — naturwissenschaftlich derzeit nicht erklärbar — herumpoltert, andere Geräusche erzeugt, elektrische Störungen hervorruft und Gegenstände bewegt
  2. 2
    Person oder Tier, das unerwünschten Lärm verursacht
  3. 3
    Person mit ruppigem Auftreten

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Poltergeist geht wieder um.
  2. Du bist heute ja wieder ein richtiger Poltergeist.

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 "Poltergeist"?
"Poltergeist" is spelled P-O-L-T-E-R-G-E-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈpɔltɐˌɡaɪ̯st].
What does "Poltergeist" mean?
As a noun, "Poltergeist" means: ein fiktives Wesen, Geist, der in Häusern und Schlössern wohnt, dort — naturwissenschaftlich derzeit nicht erklärbar — herumpoltert, andere Geräusche erzeugt, elektrische Störungen hervorruft und G...
How do you pronounce "Poltergeist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Poltergeist" is [ˈpɔltɐˌɡaɪ̯st]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Poltergeist" come from?
"Poltergeist" 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 "Poltergeist", 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