Tölpel
[ˈtœlpl̩]
The verdict
“Tölpel” is uncommon German (frequency #81,048 among 2,684 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #81,048
- frequency rank, German
- 2,684
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Meeresvogel der Familie Sulidae
Corpus desk
Index DE-tolpel · Tölpel · German
Tölpel · rank #81,048 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #81,048
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,684
- PHOTO-FINISH tätlichen
Nearest frequency peer: tätlichen (-1 rank slots)
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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “Tölpel”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Tutte
Tutte
18,956 corpus weight
- twisted
twisted
18,955 corpus weight
- tätlichen
tätlichen
18,954 corpus weight
- Tölpel
Tölpel
18,953 corpus weight
- törichten
törichten
18,952 corpus weight
- UCLA
UCLA
18,951 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “Tölpel” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Tölpel |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈtœlpl̩] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #81,048 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Tölpel” sits in German frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Tölpel is uncommon German at frequency #81,048 among 2,684 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈtœlpl̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Tölpel, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is Tölpel, spelled T-Ö-L-P-E-L.
Definition
- 1Meeresvogel der Familie Sulidae
- 2plumper, ungeschickter, meist dummer Mensch
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Tölpel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Der Tölpel ist ein Meeresvogel, der schwimmen kann.
Ein ungeschickter Mensch kann manchmal ein richtiger Tölpel sein.
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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar German words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Tölpel", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
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.