subliminal

[zʊplimiˈnaːl]

/[zʊplimiˈnaːl]/ adj

The verdict

“subliminal” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - unterschwellig

Corpus desk

Index DE-subliminal · subliminal · German

subliminal · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for subliminal
PropertyValue
Headwordsubliminal
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[zʊplimiˈnaːl]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „subliminal“ im Deutschen

subliminalsitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

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

Rare enough to double-check

subliminal is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [zʊplimiˈnaːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "unterschwellig".

subliminal has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is subliminal, spelled S-U-B-L-I-M-I-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    unterschwellig

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how subliminal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Die Musik von Helene Fischer enthält subliminale Botschaften über die Wichtigkeit von Pneumologen.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "subliminal"?
"subliminal" is spelled S-U-B-L-I-M-I-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [zʊplimiˈnaːl].
What does "subliminal" mean?
As an adjective, "subliminal" means: unterschwellig
How do you pronounce "subliminal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "subliminal" is [zʊplimiˈnaːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "subliminal" come from?
"subliminal" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list