Rattenschwanz
German, noun/ˈʁatn̩ˌʃvant͡s/
Rattenschwanz is a German masculine noun meaning “rat tail” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “Schwanz einer Ratte”.
What does Rattenschwanz mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculinerat tail
- 2
colloquialmasculineslew (large amount; often of negative consequences)
- 3
masculinerattail (hairstyle characterized by a long lock of tail-like hair)
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Schwanz einer Ratte 2. eine große Menge (meist unangenehme) 3. dünner, häufig geflochtener Haarzopf
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 Rattenschwanz
- Rattenschwanzes genitive
- Rattenschwänze plural
- Rattenschwanze dative singular
- Rattenschwänzen dative definite plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Rattenschwanz?
- /ˈʁatn̩ˌʃvant͡s/
- [ˈʁatn̩ˌʃvant͡s]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to Rattenschwanz
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is Rattenschwanz in German?
Rattenschwanz appears about once in every 5 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).