subtil
[zʊpˈtiːl]
The verdict
“subtil” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #25,336 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #25,336
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - auf eine differenzierte und feine Art vorhanden, angelegt oder gegliedert; in die Feinheiten gehend
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | subtil |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [zʊpˈtiːl] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #25,336 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “subtil” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for subtil is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [zʊpˈtiːl]. Corpus data places it at rank #25,336 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for subtil, with forms such as "sbutil", "ssubtil", and "subbtil". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "subtile", "subtilen", "subtiler", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is subtil, spelled S-U-B-T-I-L.
Definition
- 1auf eine differenzierte und feine Art vorhanden, angelegt oder gegliedert; in die Feinheiten gehend
- 2feinsinnig auf eine positive Art; mit Zartgefühl, Fingerspitzengefühl versehen
- 3scharfsinnig, auf eine eher negative Art hinten herum; mit verhüllten Zielen
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: sbutil,ssubtil,subbtil,subitl,subtill,subtli,subttil,sutbil,usbtil
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of subtil - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “subtil”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is S-U-B-T-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [zʊpˈtiːl] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “subtile” - see the side-by-side comparison. subtil vs subtile
- 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.