realpolitik
/ɹeɪˈɑlpoʊlɪˌtik/noun
realpolitik is spelled R-E-A-L-P-O-L-I-T-I-K: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, realpolitik means “Pragmatic, often expansionist, diplomacy and politics focused on perceived national interests of the state to the near exclusion of ethical, moral…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of realpolitik is realpolitiks.
How many letters and syllables are in realpolitik?
| Letters | 11: R-E-A-L-P-O-L-I-T-I-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 70,702nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is realpolitik?
Realpolitik appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce realpolitik?
- UK /ɹeɪˈɑːlpɒlɪˌtiːk/
- US /ɹeɪˈɑlpoʊlɪˌtik/
- US /ɹiˈɑlpoʊlɪˌtik/
Realpolitik has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-realpolitik.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of realpolitik
- realpolitiks plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does realpolitik mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Pragmatic, often expansionist, diplomacy and politics focused on perceived national interests of the state to the near exclusion of ethical, moral, and theoretical objectives.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of realpolitik.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Realpolitik in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pragmatic international government policy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | realpolitik, réalpolitik, réalpolitique, réal-politique |
| German | Realpolitik |
| Spanish | realpolitik |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does realpolitik come from?
Borrowed from German Realpolitik (literally “practical, realistic, fact-based, realism-based politics”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).