rationales

[ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːləs]

/[ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːləs]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“rationales” is uncommon German (frequency #72,855 among 42,116 “R” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,855
frequency rank, German
42,116
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rational

Key facts for rationales
PropertyValue
Headwordrationales
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːləs]
Letters10
Frequency rank#72,855
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rationales” 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). rationales lands here:

#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

rationales is uncommon German at frequency #72,855 among 42,116 “R” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːləs]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for rationales in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is rationales, spelled R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rational
  2. 2
    Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rational
  3. 3
    Nominativ Singular Neutrum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rational
  4. 4
    Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rational

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 "rationales"?
"rationales" is spelled R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːləs].
What does "rationales" mean?
As an adjective, "rationales" means: Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rational
How do you pronounce "rationales"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rationales" is [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːləs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rationales" come from?
"rationales" 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 “rationales”

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-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˌʁat͡si̯oˈnaːləs] (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list