unter ferner liefen
[ˈʊntɐ ˈfɛʁnɐ ˈliːfən]
The verdict
“unter ferner liefen” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 19
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - auf einem untergeordneten Rang, nicht weiter erwähnenswert
Corpus desk
Index DE-unter-ferner-liefen · unter ferner liefen · German
unter ferner liefen · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 19 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "U" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unter ferner liefen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| IPA | [ˈʊntɐ ˈfɛʁnɐ ˈliːfən] |
| Letters | 19 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „unter ferner liefen“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
unter ferner liefen is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [ˈʊntɐ ˈfɛʁnɐ ˈliːfən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "auf einem untergeordneten Rang, nicht weiter erwähnenswert".
Zero misspellings are on record for unter ferner liefen in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is unter ferner liefen, spelled U-N-T-E-R- -F-E-R-N-E-R- -L-I-E-F-E-N.
Definition
- 1auf einem untergeordneten Rang, nicht weiter erwähnenswert
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how unter ferner liefen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Bei vielen Parteien rangierte die Netzpolitik bisher unter ferner liefen.
Verglichen mit dem Stellenwert der Konkurrenz laufen wir eher unter ferner liefen.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.