scharfsinnig

[ˈʃaʁfˌzɪnɪç]

/[ˈʃaʁfˌzɪnɪç]/ adj

The verdict

“scharfsinnig” is an uncommon German word, ranked #65,648 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.

#65,648
frequency rank, German
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - mit scharfem Sinn, mit scharfem/hohem Verstand, hochintelligent

Key facts for scharfsinnig
PropertyValue
Headwordscharfsinnig
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈʃaʁfˌzɪnɪç]
Letters12
Frequency rank#65,648
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “scharfsinnig” 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). scharfsinnig lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for scharfsinnig is 12 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʃaʁfˌzɪnɪç]. Corpus data places it at rank #65,648 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "mit scharfem Sinn, mit scharfem/hohem Verstand, hochintelligent".

scharfsinnig has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

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 scharfsinnig, spelled S-C-H-A-R-F-S-I-N-N-I-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    mit scharfem Sinn, mit scharfem/hohem Verstand, hochintelligent

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

How do you spell "scharfsinnig"?
"scharfsinnig" is spelled S-C-H-A-R-F-S-I-N-N-I-G. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃaʁfˌzɪnɪç].
What does "scharfsinnig" mean?
As an adjective, "scharfsinnig" means: mit scharfem Sinn, mit scharfem/hohem Verstand, hochintelligent
How do you pronounce "scharfsinnig"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scharfsinnig" is [ˈʃaʁfˌzɪnɪç]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "scharfsinnig" come from?
"scharfsinnig" 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 “scharfsinnig”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is S-C-H-A-R-F-S-I-N-N-I-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈʃaʁfˌzɪnɪç] (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
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list