sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen

[zɪç viː ʔaɪ̯n ʔeləˈfant ʔɪm pɔʁt͡sɛˈlaːnˌladn̩ bəˈneːmm̩]

/[zɪç viː ʔaɪ̯n ʔeləˈfant ʔɪm pɔʁt͡sɛˈlaːnˌladn̩ bəˈneːmm̩]/ phrase

The verdict

“sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
47
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - sich ungeschickt, unbeholfen, oder auch taktlos verhalten

Key facts for sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen
PropertyValue
Headwordsich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[zɪç viː ʔaɪ̯n ʔeləˈfant ʔɪm pɔʁt͡sɛˈlaːnˌladn̩ bəˈneːmm̩]
Letters47
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen” sits in German frequency

sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [zɪç viː ʔaɪ̯n ʔeləˈfant ʔɪm pɔʁt͡sɛˈlaːnˌladn̩ bəˈneːmm̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "sich ungeschickt, unbeholfen, oder auch taktlos verhalten".

No generated misspelling entries exist for sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen, spelled S-I-C-H- -W-I-E- -E-I-N- -E-L-E-F-A-N-T- -I-M- -P-O-R-Z-E-L-L-A-N-L-A-D-E-N- -B-E-N-E-H-M-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich ungeschickt, unbeholfen, oder auch taktlos verhalten

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen"?
"sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen" is spelled S-I-C-H- -W-I-E- -E-I-N- -E-L-E-F-A-N-T- -I-M- -P-O-R-Z-E-L-L-A-N-L-A-D-E-N- -B-E-N-E-H-M-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [zɪç viː ʔaɪ̯n ʔeləˈfant ʔɪm pɔʁt͡sɛˈlaːnˌladn̩ bəˈneːmm̩].
What does "sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen" mean?
As a phrase, "sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen" means: sich ungeschickt, unbeholfen, oder auch taktlos verhalten
How do you pronounce "sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen" is [zɪç viː ʔaɪ̯n ʔeləˈfant ʔɪm pɔʁt͡sɛˈlaːnˌladn̩ bəˈneːmm̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen" come from?
"sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen" 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 “sich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen benehmen”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is S-I-C-H- -W-I-E- -E-I-N- -E-L-E-F-A-N-T- -I-M- -P-O-R-Z-E-L-L-A-N-L-A-D-E-N- -B-E-N-E-H-M-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [zɪç viː ʔaɪ̯n ʔeləˈfant ʔɪm pɔʁt͡sɛˈlaːnˌladn̩ bəˈneːmm̩] (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