spärlich
\ˈʃpɛːɐ̯lɪç\
The verdict
“spärlich” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Clairsemé, éparse, rare, parcimonieux, dilué.
Corpus desk
Index FR-sparlich · spärlich · French
spärlich · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | spärlich |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ˈʃpɛːɐ̯lɪç\ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « spärlich » en français
Rare enough to double-check
spärlich is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ˈʃpɛːɐ̯lɪç\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
spärlich doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, 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 spärlich, spelled S-P-Ä-R-L-I-C-H.
Definition
- 1Clairsemé, éparse, rare, parcimonieux, dilué.
- 2Limité, restreint.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how spärlich appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Der Schlimmste in dieser Hinsicht war Brodsky. (...) In unförmige Hosen und einen alten, zerlöcherten Pullover gekleidet und mit langen, verfitzten, schon spärlich nachwachsenden Haaren kam er spät zu den Feiern, verließ sie früh wieder und blieb gerade so lange, dass man Zeit hatte, seine Diskretion und die Schlichtheit seines Auftretens wahrzunehmen.
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.