dunkel

\ˈdʊŋ.kəl\

/\ˈdʊŋ.kəl\/ adj

The verdict

“dunkel” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sombre, foncé, qui est peu éclairé ; qui reçoit peu de lumière ; qui est obscur.

Corpus desk

Index FR-dunkel · dunkel · French

dunkel · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" 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 dunkel
PropertyValue
Headworddunkel
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ˈdʊŋ.kəl\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « dunkel » en français

dunkelreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

dunkel is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ˈdʊŋ.kəl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for dunkel, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is dunkel, spelled D-U-N-K-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sombre, foncé, qui est peu éclairé ; qui reçoit peu de lumière ; qui est obscur.
  2. 2
    Sombre, qui est moins éclatant, qui est plus foncé que les autres, en parlant d’une teinte, d’une couleur.
  3. 3
    Grave, qui est de fréquence basse, en parlant d’un son.
  4. 4
    Obscur, qui n’est pas clair ; qui est inintelligible ; qui ne se fait pas comprendre ou se fait difficilement comprendre.
  5. 5
    Sombre, qui est inquiétant ou menaçant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Den Winter als lange, dunkle und recht öde Zeit verbrachte der Ritter in der Regel bei seiner Familie zu Hause.
  2. Neben den Möbelgruppen sind alte Lampenschirme aufgestellt, an der Wand lehnt eine große dunkle Wanduhr, auf den Tischen stehen Vasen mit geschmückten Tannenzweigen.

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 "dunkel"?
"dunkel" is spelled D-U-N-K-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈdʊŋ.kəl\.
What does "dunkel" mean?
As an adjective, "dunkel" means: Sombre, foncé, qui est peu éclairé ; qui reçoit peu de lumière ; qui est obscur.
How do you pronounce "dunkel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dunkel" is \ˈdʊŋ.kəl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "dunkel" come from?
"dunkel" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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