selten
German, adjective/ˈzɛltən/
selten is spelled S-E-L-T-E-N (6 letters) and appears 95 times per million words in written German, the 912th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Selten is a German adjective meaning “rare, infrequent, uncommon, scarce” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “nur in geringen Mengen vorhanden”.
What does selten mean in English?
adjective
- 1
rare, infrequent, uncommon, scarce
- 2
unusual, curious
adverb
- 1
seldom; rarely
Er ist selten unfreundlich.
- 2
informalunusually; extremely
Der Typ war ja selten unfreundlich!
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. nur in geringen Mengen vorhanden 2. nicht häufig passierend; die Wiederholungen haben eine große Zeitspanne 3. (von Eigenschaften) in einer Ausprägung, wie sie nur bei wenigen Exemplaren vorkommt
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 selten
- seltener masculine nominative singular
- seltner masculine nominative singular
- seltene feminine nominative singular
- seltne feminine nominative singular
- seltenes neuter nominative singular
- seltnes neuter nominative singular
- seltenen genitive masculine singular
- seltnen genitive masculine singular
- seltenem dative masculine singular
- seltnem dative masculine singular
- am seltensten superlative
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce selten?
- /ˈzɛltən/
- [ˈzɛltən]
- [ˈzɛltn̩]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to selten
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is selten in German?
selten appears 95 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).