Viola da Gamba

[ˈvi̯oːla da ˈɡamba]

/[ˈvi̯oːla da ˈɡamba]/ phrase

The verdict

“Viola da Gamba” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - historisches Streichinstrument mit fünf bis sieben Saiten, das beim Spielen zwischen den Beinen gehalten wird; kleinere Instrumente werden auf den Schoß gestellt

Key facts for Viola da Gamba
PropertyValue
HeadwordViola da Gamba
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˈvi̯oːla da ˈɡamba]
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Viola da Gamba” sits in German frequency

Viola da Gamba falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Viola da Gamba is 14 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈvi̯oːla da ˈɡamba]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "historisches Streichinstrument mit fünf bis sieben Saiten, das beim Spielen zwischen den Beinen gehalten wird; kleinere Instrumente werden auf den Schoß gestellt".

No misspelling variants are generated for Viola da Gamba in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is Viola da Gamba, spelled V-I-O-L-A- -D-A- -G-A-M-B-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    historisches Streichinstrument mit fünf bis sieben Saiten, das beim Spielen zwischen den Beinen gehalten wird; kleinere Instrumente werden auf den Schoß gestellt

Synonyms

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “Viola da Gamba, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/viola-da-gamba

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Viola da Gamba"?
"Viola da Gamba" is spelled V-I-O-L-A- -D-A- -G-A-M-B-A. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈvi̯oːla da ˈɡamba].
What does "Viola da Gamba" mean?
As a phrase, "Viola da Gamba" means: historisches Streichinstrument mit fünf bis sieben Saiten, das beim Spielen zwischen den Beinen gehalten wird; kleinere Instrumente werden auf den Schoß gestellt
How do you pronounce "Viola da Gamba"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Viola da Gamba" is [ˈvi̯oːla da ˈɡamba]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Viola da Gamba" come from?
"Viola da Gamba" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “Viola da Gamba”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is V-I-O-L-A- -D-A- -G-A-M-B-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈvi̯oːla da ˈɡamba] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter V in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list