rückfällig
[ˈʁʏkˌfɛlɪç]
The verdict
“rückfällig” is uncommon German (frequency #60,021 among 42,116 “R” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #60,021
- frequency rank, German
- 42,116
- “R” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - wieder altes (negatives, schädliches, verbotenes, kriminelles) Verhalten zeigend
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rückfällig |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ˈʁʏkˌfɛlɪç] |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #60,021 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rückfällig” sits in German frequency
Rare enough to double-check
rückfällig is uncommon German at frequency #60,021 among 42,116 “R” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈʁʏkˌfɛlɪç]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
rückfällig has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is rückfällig, spelled R-Ü-C-K-F-Ä-L-L-I-G.
Definition
- 1wieder altes (negatives, schädliches, verbotenes, kriminelles) Verhalten zeigend
- 2wieder an der alten (überwunden geglaubten) Krankheit leidend
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
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Using “rückfällig”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is R-Ü-C-K-F-Ä-L-L-I-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈʁʏkˌfɛlɪç] (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.