German adverb · CEFR A2

selten

Meaning in English: rarely, seldom; rare

Rank 1,242 of 5,000adverbLevel A22 forms in the list
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Example

Wir gehen nur noch selten ins Kino.

We rarely go to the cinema any more.

Forms of selten in the top 5,000

These forms of selten are in the top 5,000 as well — German adds endings for gender, case and number:

seltener#4,964
more rarely, less oftenB1

Seit dem Umzug sehen wir uns seltener.
Since the move we see each other less often.

How common is selten?

selten is number 1,242 of the 5,000 most common German words. In the texts the list is counted from it appears 74 times per million words — about once every 14,000 words.

Know every word down to this one and you recognise about 66% of the words in an ordinary German text. A2 means an elementary word, usually learned in the first year.

Next to it in the frequency list

  1. 1,238individuelleindividual, personal
  2. 1,239anhandby means of, based on
  3. 1,240die Betreuungcare, supervision
  4. 1,241Städtecities, towns
  5. 1,242seltenrarely, seldom; rare
  6. 1,243schlossclosed, locked, concluded
  7. 1,244richtigenright, correct
  8. 1,245reichtis enough, hands, reaches
  9. 1,246meldento report, to get in touch

In these word lists

Translations, levels and examples were written with AI help and are awaiting review by a native speaker — how the list was made.