proper
German, adjective/ˈpʁɔpɐ/
proper is spelled P-R-O-P-E-R (6 letters) and appears about once in every 2 million words in written German, the 56,036th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Proper is a German adjective meaning “in good condition: clean; neat; well-kept; developed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “in gutem, gepflegten Zustand befindlich, dem Betrachter gefallend”.
What does proper mean in English?
adjective
- 1
datedinformalin good condition: clean; neat; well-kept; developed
Bis vor kurzem herrschte hier bittere Armut, aber jetzt ist es ein ganz properes Städtchen geworden.
- 2
colloquialoverweight; chubby
Die Linda war doch immer so’ne Schlanke, aber jetzt sieht sie ziemlich proper aus.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. in gutem, gepflegten Zustand befindlich, dem Betrachter gefallend
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of proper
- properer masculine nominative singular
- am propersten superlative
- propere feminine nominative singular
- properes neuter nominative singular
- properen genitive masculine singular
- properem dative masculine singular
- der propere definite includes-article masculine
- die propere definite feminine includes-article
- das propere definite includes-article neuter
- die properen definite includes-article nominative
- des properen definite genitive includes-article
- der properen definite feminine genitive
- dem properen dative definite includes-article
- proprer comparative
- propre positive nominative strong
- propres positive nominative strong
- propren positive genitive strong
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce proper?
- /ˈpʁɔpɐ/
- [ˈpʁɔpɐ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is proper in German?
proper appears about once in every 2 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).