principle

Name: principle, German Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[…]

/[…]/ noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“principle” is uncommon German (frequency #73,904 among 49,534 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,904
frequency rank, German: 49,534
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Prinzip

Key facts for principle
Property	Value
Headword	principle
Language	German
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	[…]
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#73,904
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “principle” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). principle lands here:

#73,904

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

principle is uncommon German at frequency #73,904 among 49,534 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed […]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Prinzip".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for principle, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

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 principle, spelled P-R-I-N-C-I-P-L-E.

Definition

1
Prinzip

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 "principle"?

"principle" is spelled P-R-I-N-C-I-P-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is […].

What does "principle" mean?

As a noun, "principle" means: Prinzip

How do you pronounce "principle"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "principle" is […]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "principle" come from?

"principle" 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.

Using “principle”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct German spelling is P-R-I-N-C-I-P-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as […] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.