erstaunlich

\ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç\

/\ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç\/ adj

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Étonnant, admirable.

Corpus desk

Index FR-erstaunlich · erstaunlich · French

erstaunlich · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" 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 erstaunlich
PropertyValue
Headworderstaunlich
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « erstaunlich » en français

erstaunlichsiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

erstaunlich is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for erstaunlich, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is erstaunlich, spelled E-R-S-T-A-U-N-L-I-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Étonnant, admirable.
  2. 2
    Étonnant, bizarre.
  3. 3
    Étonnant, très grand, haut, extrème.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ich habe beobachtet, wie meine Katze einen Fuchs aus unserem Garten vertrieben hat. Es ist erstaunlich, wie mutig ein Haustier sein kann.
  2. Auch der Hafen bot denen, die ihn oben von den Boulevards aus betrachteten, einen erstaunlichen Anblick. Die gewohnte Betriebsamkeit, die ihn zu einem der wichtigsten Häfen der Küste machte, war mit einem Schlag erstorben.

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 "erstaunlich"?
"erstaunlich" is spelled E-R-S-T-A-U-N-L-I-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç\.
What does "erstaunlich" mean?
As an adjective, "erstaunlich" means: Étonnant, admirable.
How do you pronounce "erstaunlich"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erstaunlich" is \ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erstaunlich" come from?
"erstaunlich" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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