Schicksal
German, noun/ˈʃɪk.zaːl/
Schicksal is spelled S-C-H-I-C-K-S-A-L (9 letters) and appears 32 times per million words in written German, the 2,594th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Schicksal is a German neuter noun meaning “destiny, fate (irresistible power that predetermines events)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “höhere Macht, welche die Zukunft der/eines Menschen beliebig beeinflusst und lenkt”.
What does Schicksal mean in English?
noun
- 1
neuterdestiny, fate (irresistible power that predetermines events)
- 2
neutersomeone's destiny, fate
- 3
neuterlife story; the general conditions and main developments of a person's life; more often than in English used without any notion of predetermination
Das Buch beschreibt die Schicksale von zehn Frauen aus verschiedenen Gesellschaftsschichten im frühen 20. Jahrhundert.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. höhere Macht, welche die Zukunft der/eines Menschen beliebig beeinflusst und lenkt 2. vermeintliche, sich auf eine oder mehrere Personen beziehende Folge des Schicksals ^([1])
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 Schicksal
- Schicksals genitive
- Schicksales genitive
- Schicksale plural
- Schicksäler informal plural
- Schicksalen dative definite plural
- Schicksälern dative definite informal
- Schiksaal alternative obsolete
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Schicksal?
- /ˈʃɪk.zaːl/
- /-zal/
- /-saːl/
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to Schicksal
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is Schicksal in German?
Schicksal appears 32 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).