rational

/[ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl]/ adj

Letters

8 characters

Frequency Rank

#16,522

in German word usage

Misspellings

11

tracked variants

Confusables

4

similar word pairs

rational is anGermanadj. It means: mit dem Verstand, der Vernunft zu tun habend Pronounced [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl]. Often confused with regional and rationale.

Key facts for rational
PropertyValue
Headwordrational
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdj
IPA[ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl]
Letters8
Frequency rank#16,522
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of rational in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for rational is 8 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl]. Corpus data places it at rank #16,522 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 11 documented wrong-spelling variants for rational, with forms such as "artional", "raitonal", and "ratinoal". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "regional", "rationale", "rationalen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is rational, spelled R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    mit dem Verstand, der Vernunft zu tun habend
  2. 2
    als Verhältnis zweier Ganzzahlen (als Bruch) darstellbar

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: artional,raitonal,ratinoal,ratioanl,rationall,rationla,rationnal,ratoinal,rattional,rrational,rtaional

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for rational

Misspelling Variants of "rational"

artional8raitonal8ratinoal8ratioanl8rationall9rationla8rationnal9ratoinal8
Misspelling Variants of "rational"

Frequency rank: #16,522 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rational"?
"rational" is spelled R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl].
What does "rational" mean?
As an adj, "rational" means: mit dem Verstand, der Vernunft zu tun habend
What words are commonly confused with "rational"?
"rational" is commonly confused with "regional", "rationale", "rationalen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rational"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rational" is [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rational" come from?
"rational" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.