Symbolpolitik
German, noun/zʏmˈboːlpoliˌtiːk/
Symbolpolitik is spelled S-Y-M-B-O-L-P-O-L-I-T-I-K (13 letters) and appears about once in every 3 million words in written German, the 74,397th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Symbolpolitik is a German feminine noun meaning “political actions that are symbolic, sending a message or making a token effort while having little direct effect” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “Politik, die auf Gesten, Zeichen, Worten oder Ankündigungen beruht; dabei wird keine konkrete Maßnahmen/kein…”.
What does Symbolpolitik mean in English?
noun
- 1
derogatoryfemininepolitical actions that are symbolic, sending a message or making a token effort while having little direct effect
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Politik, die auf Gesten, Zeichen, Worten oder Ankündigungen beruht; dabei wird keine konkrete Maßnahmen/kein Gesetz beschlossen; es kommt dem Sender der Geste/des Zeichens/der Worte/der Ankündigung oft auf die (möglichst große) mediale Wirkung an
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
How do you pronounce Symbolpolitik?
- /zʏmˈboːlpoliˌtiːk/
- /-poliˌtɪk/
- [zʏmˈboːlpoliˌtiːk]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is Symbolpolitik in German?
Symbolpolitik appears about once in every 3 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).