rational
[ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl]
The verdict
“rational” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #16,522 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,522
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - mit dem Verstand, der Vernunft zu tun habend
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rational |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #16,522 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rational” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for rational is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, 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 generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for rational, with forms such as "artional", "raitonal", and "ratinoal". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "regional", "rationale", "rationalen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is rational, spelled R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L.
Definition
- 1mit dem Verstand, der Vernunft zu tun habend
- 2als Verhältnis zweier Ganzzahlen (als Bruch) darstellbar
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: artional,raitonal,ratinoal,ratioanl,rationall,rationla,rationnal,ratoinal,rattional,rrational,rtaional
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rational - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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
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Using “rational”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːl] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “regional” - see the side-by-side comparison. rational vs regional
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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.