Zitterlaut

[ˈt͡sɪtɐˌlaʊ̯t]

/[ˈt͡sɪtɐˌlaʊ̯t]/ noun

The verdict

“Zitterlaut” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - deutscher Terminus für Vibrant; Zitterlaute sind diejenigen [R]-Laute, die als Vibranten und nicht als Frikative oder vokalisch gesprochen werden.

Corpus desk

Index DE-zitterlaut · Zitterlaut · German

Zitterlaut · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "Z" 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.

Key facts for Zitterlaut
PropertyValue
HeadwordZitterlaut
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈt͡sɪtɐˌlaʊ̯t]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Zitterlaut“ im Deutschen

Zitterlautschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

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

Rare enough to double-check

Zitterlaut is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈt͡sɪtɐˌlaʊ̯t]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "deutscher Terminus für Vibrant; Zitterlaute sind diejenigen [R]-Laute, die als Vibranten und nicht als Frikative oder vokalisch gesprochen werden.".

Zero misspellings are on record for Zitterlaut in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

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. The correct German form is Zitterlaut, spelled Z-I-T-T-E-R-L-A-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    deutscher Terminus für Vibrant; Zitterlaute sind diejenigen [R]-Laute, die als Vibranten und nicht als Frikative oder vokalisch gesprochen werden.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der erste Laut von Wörtern wie „Rast“, „rasen“, „Rost“ kann als Zitterlaut gesprochen werden.
  2. „Der Zitterlaut R.“

Synonyms

Antonyms

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Zitterlaut"?
"Zitterlaut" is spelled Z-I-T-T-E-R-L-A-U-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈt͡sɪtɐˌlaʊ̯t].
What does "Zitterlaut" mean?
As a noun, "Zitterlaut" means: deutscher Terminus für Vibrant; Zitterlaute sind diejenigen [R]-Laute, die als Vibranten und nicht als Frikative oder vokalisch gesprochen werden.
How do you pronounce "Zitterlaut"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Zitterlaut" is [ˈt͡sɪtɐˌlaʊ̯t]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Zitterlaut" come from?
"Zitterlaut" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list