Rätsel

See also: rätsel

German

Alternative forms

• Räthsel, Rätzel (obsolete)

Etymology

From northern Middle High German rētsel, rātsel, from Old High German rādisli (10th c., hapax: ze radislen, Ripuarian), from Proto-West Germanic *rādislī. Equivalent to raten +‎ -sel. The formation was restricted to parts of Central German and was later reinforced by Middle Low German rēdesal, rēdelse. It established itself in the standard language after Luther’s usage. Upper German synonyms were Old High German rātisca, rātissa, rātunga.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʁɛːtsəl/, [ˈʁɛː.t͡sl̩], [ˈʁeː.t͡sl̩]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Rät‧sel

Noun

Rätsel n (strong, genitive Rätsels, plural Rätsel)

1. riddle, puzzle, mystery, enigma

Declension

Declension of Rätsel [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Rätsel	die	Rätsel
genitive	eines	des	Rätsels	der	Rätsel
dative	einem	dem	Rätsel	den	Rätseln
accusative	ein	das	Rätsel	die	Rätsel

Hyponyms

• Bilderrätsel
• Kreuzworträtsel
• Silbenrätsel
• Zahlenrätsel

Derived terms

• rätselhaft
• rätseln
• enträtseln
• Rätselauflösung
• Rätselecke
• Rätselheft
• Rätselmagazin

Further reading

• “Rätsel” in Duden online
• “Rätsel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Rätsel” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

Luxembourgish

Noun

Rätsel n (plural Rätselen)

1. puzzle
2. riddle