proper

[ˈpʁɔpɐ]

/[ˈpʁɔpɐ]/ adj

The verdict

“proper” is uncommon German (frequency #56,441 among 3,409 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,441
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - in gutem, gepflegten Zustand befindlich, dem Betrachter gefallend

Corpus desk

Index DE-proper · proper · German

proper · rank #56,441 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,441
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH programmierte

Nearest frequency peer: programmierte (-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 „proper“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for proper
PropertyValue
Headwordproper
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈpʁɔpɐ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#56,441
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „proper“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).properfällt 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: „programmierte“ (#56,440), „provozierte“ (#56,442), „produziere“ (#56,439). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „proper“ bei #56,441. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

proper is uncommon German at frequency #56,441 among 3,409 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈpʁɔpɐ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "in gutem, gepflegten Zustand befindlich, dem Betrachter gefallend".

proper has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is proper, spelled P-R-O-P-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    in gutem, gepflegten Zustand befindlich, dem Betrachter gefallend

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Das ist aber ein properes Kind.
  2. „George hätte nie ein so properes Restaurant mit einer erlesenen christlichen Kundschaft auf die Beine stellen können.“

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 "proper"?
"proper" is spelled P-R-O-P-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈpʁɔpɐ].
What does "proper" mean?
As an adjective, "proper" means: in gutem, gepflegten Zustand befindlich, dem Betrachter gefallend
How do you pronounce "proper"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "proper" is [ˈpʁɔpɐ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "proper" come from?
"proper" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "proper", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list