tricky

[ˈtɹɪkɪ]

/[ˈtɹɪkɪ]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“tricky” is uncommon German (frequency #59,253 among 2,684 “T” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,253
frequency rank, German
2,684
“T” headwords

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

Corpus desk

Index DE-tricky · tricky · German

tricky · rank #59,253 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,253
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,684
  • PHOTO-FINISH Transsexuellen

Nearest frequency peer: Transsexuellen (-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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „tricky“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „tricky“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tricky
PropertyValue
Headwordtricky
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈtɹɪkɪ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#59,253
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „tricky“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).trickyfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Transsexuellen“ (#59,252), „Trossingen“ (#59,254), „Transistoren“ (#59,251). Unter 2,684 „T“-Lemmata liegt „tricky“ bei #59,253. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tricky is uncommon German at frequency #59,253 among 2,684 “T” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈtɹɪkɪ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

tricky has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is tricky, spelled T-R-I-C-K-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    gerissen, durchtrieben
  2. 2
    kompliziert, schwierig (Problem), kitzelig (Situation)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Do not try to haggle with him, he is really tricky.
  2. To program an FPGA can be quite tricky.

Synonyms

sly

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

How do you spell "tricky"?
"tricky" is spelled T-R-I-C-K-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈtɹɪkɪ].
What does "tricky" mean?
As an adjective, "tricky" means: gerissen, durchtrieben
How do you pronounce "tricky"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tricky" is [ˈtɹɪkɪ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tricky" come from?
"tricky" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tricky", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

topper#59,246Septum#59,178Senate#59,175selbes#59,174

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list