plötzlich

\ˈplœʦ.lɪç\

/\ˈplœʦ.lɪç\/ adj

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Abrupt, brusque, brusqué, sec, cassant, raide, heurté, saccadé, soudain, subit.

Corpus desk

Index FR-plotzlich · plötzlich · French

plötzlich · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" 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 plötzlich
PropertyValue
Headwordplötzlich
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ˈplœʦ.lɪç\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « plötzlich » en français

plötzlichsiège 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

plötzlich is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ˈplœʦ.lɪç\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Abrupt, brusque, brusqué, sec, cassant, raide, heurté, saccadé, soudain, subit.".

Zero misspellings are on record for plötzlich in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. 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.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is plötzlich, spelled P-L-Ö-T-Z-L-I-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Abrupt, brusque, brusqué, sec, cassant, raide, heurté, saccadé, soudain, subit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Eine der spürbarsten Folgen der Schließung der Tore war nämlich die plötzliche Trennung von Menschen, die nicht darauf vorbereitet waren.
  2. Das ist alles sehr plötzlich.

Antonyms

vorhesehbar

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 "plötzlich"?
"plötzlich" is spelled P-L-Ö-T-Z-L-I-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈplœʦ.lɪç\.
What does "plötzlich" mean?
As an adjective, "plötzlich" means: Abrupt, brusque, brusqué, sec, cassant, raide, heurté, saccadé, soudain, subit.
How do you pronounce "plötzlich"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plötzlich" is \ˈplœʦ.lɪç\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "plötzlich" come from?
"plötzlich" is a French 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