Trottel
[ˈtʁɔtl̩]
The verdict
“Trottel” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #11,135 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #11,135
- frequency rank, German
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - schwachsinniger Mensch, ein unter Kretinismus leidender Mensch
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 | Trottel |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈtʁɔtl̩] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #11,135 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Trottel” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Trottel is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈtʁɔtl̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #11,135 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 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 Trottel, with forms such as "rtottel", "torttel", and "trotel". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "trotzen", "Tritte", "Trommel", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Trottel, spelled T-R-O-T-T-E-L.
Definition
- 1schwachsinniger Mensch, ein unter Kretinismus leidender Mensch
- 2ein nicht sehr kluger oder nur wenig gebildeter, einfältiger Mensch
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: rtottel,torttel,trotel,trotetl,trottell,trottle,trrottel,trtotel,ttrottel
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Trottel - 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
How do you spell "Trottel"?
What does "Trottel" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Trottel"?
How do you pronounce "Trottel"?
What language does "Trottel" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Trottel”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is T-R-O-T-T-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈtʁɔtl̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “trotzen” - see the side-by-side comparison. Trottel vs trotzen
- 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.