real
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English real, from Old French reel, from Late Latin reālis (“actual”), from Latin rēs (“matter, thing”), from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“wealth, goods”). Doublet of realis.
Pronunciation
- enPR: rēəl, riəl, rēl, IPA(key): /ˈɹiːəl/, /ɹɪə̯l/, /ɹiːl/
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -iːəl
- Homophone: reel (some accents)
Adjective
real (comparative realer or more real, superlative realest or most real)
- True, genuine, not merely nominal or apparent.
- 2007, Jim Kokoris, The Rich Part of Life: A Novel, →ISBN, page 179:
- [T]he real reason he didn't come was because he was scared of flying[.]
- 2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:
- Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
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- Genuine, not artificial, counterfeit, or fake.
- 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
- An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.
- This is real leather.
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- Genuine, unfeigned, sincere.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- Whose perfection farr excell’d Hers in all real dignitie
- 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:
- The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you […] "share the things you love with the world" and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.
- These are real tears!
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- Actually being, existing, or occurring; not fictitious or imaginary.
- a description of real life
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- I waked, and found / Before mine eyes all real, as the dream / Had lively shadowed.
- That has objective, physical existence.
- No one has ever seen a real unicorn.
- (economics) Having been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation; measured in purchasing power (contrast nominal).
- My dad calculated my family's real consumption per month.
- What is the real GNP of this polity?
- (economics) Relating to the result of the actions of rational agents; relating to neoclassical economic models as opposed to Keynesian models.
- (mathematics, of a number) Being either a rational number, or the limit of a convergent infinite sequence of rational numbers: being one of a set of numbers with a one-to-one correspondence to the points on a line.
- (law) Relating to immovable tangible property.
- 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Cunning”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, OCLC 863521290:
- Many are perfect in men's humours that are not greatly capable of the real part of business.
- Absolute, complete, utter.
- This is a real problem.
- (slang) Signifying meritorious qualities or actions especially as regard the enjoyment of life, prowess at sports, or success wooing potential partners.
- I'm keeping it real.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (true, genuine): imaginary, nonreal, unreal
- (genuine, not artificial): artificial, counterfeit, fake, sham
- (genuine, unfeigned): feigned, sham, staged
- (that has physical existence): fictitious, imaginary, made-up, pretend (informal)
- (relating to numbers with a one-to-one correspondence to the points on a line): imaginary
Derived terms
- cyberreal
- for real
- get real
- keep it real
- real analysis
- real asset
- real axis
- real body
- real capital
- real deal
- real estate
- real focus
- real image
- real income
- reality
- real life
- real line
- really
- real market
- real matrix
- real McCoy
- realness
- real number
- real option
- real part
- real presence
- real property
- real return
- real school
- real soon now
- real storage
- real stuff
- real tennis
- real thing
- real time
- real-valued
- real variable
- real wages
- real world
- real-world
- the real deal
- the real thing
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Adverb
real (not comparable)
Translations
Noun
real (plural reals)
- A commodity; see realty.
- (grammar) One of the three genders that the common gender can be separated into in the Scandinavian languages.
- (mathematics) A real number.
- 2007, Mark Bridges, REAL ANALYSIS: A Constructive Approach, Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, page 11:
- There have been several classical constructions of the reals that avoid these problems, the most famous ones being Dedekind Cuts and Cauchy Sequences, named respectively for the mathematicians Richard Dedekind (1831 - 1916) and Augustine Cauchy (1789 - 1857). We will not discuss these constructions here, but will use a more modern one developed by Gabriel Stolzenberg, based on "interval arithmetic."
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- (obsolete) A realist.
- 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 54573970:
- Scotists, Thomists, Reals, Nominals
-
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Spanish real (“royal”), from Latin rēgālis (“regal, royal”). Doublet of regal and royal.
Pronunciation
Noun
- Former unit of currency of Spain and Spain's colonies.
- A coin worth one real.
Translations
Etymology 3
From Portuguese real (“royal”), from Latin rēgālis (“regal; royal”). Doublet of regal and royal.
Pronunciation
Noun
real (plural reis or réis or reals)
- A unit of currency used in Portugal and its colonies from 1430 until 1911, and in Brazil from 1790 until 1942.
- A coin worth one real.
- A unit of currency used in Brazil since 1994. Symbol: R$.
- 200 Brazilian reais banknote (introduced as of 2021)
- Brazilian real coins (2nd family, as of 2010)
- 2011, Perry Anderson, "Lula's Brazil", London Review of Books, 33.VII:
- Within weeks of this bombshell, an aide to the brother of the chairman of the PT, José Genoino, was arrested boarding a flight with 200,000 reais in a suitcase and $100,000 in his underpants.
- A coin worth one real.
Synonyms
- (old Portuguese and Brazilian unit of currency): rei
Meronyms
- (current Brazilian unit of currency): centavo
Translations
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Catalan
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Late Latin reālis, from Latin rēs.
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “real” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “real”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
- “real” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “real” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Crimean Tatar
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin reālis (“real, actual”), from Latin rēs (“matter, thing”).
Synonyms
- aqiqiy, kerçek
Galician
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /reˈal/
Etymology 1
From Latin rēgālis (“royal”), from rēx (“king”) + -alis, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (“ruler, king”).
Noun
real m (plural reais)
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Late Latin reālis (“actual”), from Latin rēs (“matter, thing”), from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“thing; possession”).
Derived terms
German
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin reālis. Doublet of reell.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʁeˈal/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -aːl
Adjective
real (strong nominative masculine singular realer, comparative realer, superlative am realsten)
- real (that has physical existence)
- Synonyms: echt, existent, bestehend, gegenständlich, dinglich
- real existierender Sozialismus ― real socialism
- real, realistic (pertaining to reality)
- Diese Geschichte ist nicht real. ― This story is not real.
- Sie ist ein kluges Mädchen; sie denkt real. ― She is a smart girl; she thinks realistically.
- reale Pläne ― real plans
- (economics) real (not nominal), measured in purchasing power
- reales Einkommen ― real income
Declension
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist real | sie ist real | es ist real | sie sind real | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | realer | reale | reales | reale |
genitive | realen | realer | realen | realer | |
dative | realem | realer | realem | realen | |
accusative | realen | reale | reales | reale | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der reale | die reale | das reale | die realen |
genitive | des realen | der realen | des realen | der realen | |
dative | dem realen | der realen | dem realen | den realen | |
accusative | den realen | die reale | das reale | die realen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein realer | eine reale | ein reales | (keine) realen |
genitive | eines realen | einer realen | eines realen | (keiner) realen | |
dative | einem realen | einer realen | einem realen | (keinen) realen | |
accusative | einen realen | eine reale | ein reales | (keine) realen |
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist realer | sie ist realer | es ist realer | sie sind realer | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | realerer | realere | realeres | realere |
genitive | realeren | realerer | realeren | realerer | |
dative | realerem | realerer | realerem | realeren | |
accusative | realeren | realere | realeres | realere | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der realere | die realere | das realere | die realeren |
genitive | des realeren | der realeren | des realeren | der realeren | |
dative | dem realeren | der realeren | dem realeren | den realeren | |
accusative | den realeren | die realere | das realere | die realeren | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein realerer | eine realere | ein realeres | (keine) realeren |
genitive | eines realeren | einer realeren | eines realeren | (keiner) realeren | |
dative | einem realeren | einer realeren | einem realeren | (keinen) realeren | |
accusative | einen realeren | eine realere | ein realeres | (keine) realeren |
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist am realsten | sie ist am realsten | es ist am realsten | sie sind am realsten | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | realster | realste | realstes | realste |
genitive | realsten | realster | realsten | realster | |
dative | realstem | realster | realstem | realsten | |
accusative | realsten | realste | realstes | realste | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der realste | die realste | das realste | die realsten |
genitive | des realsten | der realsten | des realsten | der realsten | |
dative | dem realsten | der realsten | dem realsten | den realsten | |
accusative | den realsten | die realste | das realste | die realsten | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein realster | eine realste | ein realstes | (keine) realsten |
genitive | eines realsten | einer realsten | eines realsten | (keiner) realsten | |
dative | einem realsten | einer realsten | einem realsten | (keinen) realsten | |
accusative | einen realsten | eine realste | ein realstes | (keine) realsten |
Descendants
- → Polish: realny
See also
Indonesian
Etymology
From English real, from Middle English real, from Old French reel, from Late Latin reālis (“actual”), from Latin rēs (“matter, thing”), from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“wealth, goods”). Doublet of riil.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈril]
- Hyphenation: rè‧al
Adjective
real
Further reading
- “real” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Middle English
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Old French reel, from Late Latin reālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈrɛːal/, /ˈriːal/
Adjective
real
- (Late Middle English) real, true, factual
- (Late Middle English, law) concerning possessions
References
- “rēal, adj.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-09.
Middle French
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology 1
From Late Latin realis.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Portuguese real, from Latin regalis.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
From Late Latin reālis, from Latin rēs (“thing”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /²reː.ɑl/
Derived terms
Etymology 2

From Spanish and Portuguese real, from Latin rēgālis (“royal”). Doublet of rijal.
Noun
real m (definite singular realen, indefinite plural realar, definite plural realane)
- the real, monetary unit of Brazil
- (historical) a real, one of the former units of currency and coins used in Spain, Portugal and their colonies
- 1887, Mérimée, Prosper, “Røvarliv i Spania [Letters from Spain]”, in Sjur, transl., Ungdom: franske forteljingar [Youth – French tales], translation of Lettres d'Espagne, page 34:
- "Og han fekk dei 1,500 realarne, Jose Maria, elder rettare: han fekk dei att."
- "And he got those 1,500 reales, Jose Maria, or more accurately: he got them back again."
-
Noun
real ?
- (education, historical, colloquial) short for realskuleklasse
- 1991, Grøvdal, Ola, Engelen og måsen, page 26:
- Han tok til å drikke øl i 6., vin i 7. og vodka i 1. real […]
- He began drinking beer in the sixth, wine in the seventh and vodka in the eighth [grade] […]
-
References
Old French
Adjective
real m (oblique and nominative feminine singular real or reale)
- royal; Alternative form of roial
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- El palés real venu sont
- They came into the royal palace
- El palés real venu sont
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
Declension
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈrɛ.al/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛal
- Syllabification: re‧al
Declension
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Portuguese real, from Latin rēgālis.
Noun
real m inan
Declension
Etymology 3
Borrowed from English (in) real (life).
Noun
real m inan
- (Internet, slang) reality, real life, real world (physical reality as opposed to virtual reality)
Declension
Related terms
- realność
- odealniać impf
- odealnić pf
- realnieć impf
- urealniać impf
- urealnić pf
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ʁeˈaw/ [heˈaʊ̯]
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /ʁeˈaw/ [χeˈaʊ̯]
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈʁjal/ [ˈʁjaɫ]
- Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
- Hyphenation: re‧al
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Late Latin reālis (“actual”), from Latin rēs (“matter, thing”), from Proto-Indo-European *rēy- (“thing; possession”).
Adjective
real m or f (plural reais, comparable, comparative mais real, superlative o mais real or realíssimo)
Derived terms
Related terms
Etymology 2

From Latin rēgālis (“royal”), from rēx (“king”) + -ālis, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (“ruler, king”).
Adjective
real m or f (plural reais)
Noun
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French réel, German real, both from Late Latin reālis (“real, actual”), from Latin rēs (“matter, thing”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [reˈal]
Adjective
real m or n (feminine singular reală, masculine plural reali, feminine and neuter plural reale)
Declension
Antonyms
Related terms
See also
Further reading
- real in DEX online - Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
- Romanian vocabulary. In: Haspelmath, M. & Tadmor, U. (eds.) World Loanword Database. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /reˈal/ [reˈal]
- Rhymes: -al
- Syllabification: re‧al
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Late Latin reālis (“actual”), from Latin rēs (“matter, thing”).
Derived terms
Noun
real m (plural reales)
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
Further reading
- “real”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swedish
Declension
Inflection of real | |||
---|---|---|---|
Indefinite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative2 |
Common singular | real | — | — |
Neuter singular | realt | — | — |
Plural | reala | — | — |
Masculine plural3 | reale | — | — |
Definite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
Masculine singular1 | reale | — | — |
All | reala | — | — |
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic |
Synonyms
Noun
real c
- Clipping of realskola.
- Clipping of realskoleexamen.
- real (currency of Brazil and formerly Portugal)
Declension
Declension of real | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | real | realen | realer | realerna |
Genitive | reals | realens | realers | realernas |
References
Tagalog
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: re‧al
- IPA(key): /ɾeˈal/, [ɾeˈal]
Adjective
reál
Related terms
Further reading
- “real”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2018
- “real” in Pinoy Dictionary, Cyberspace.ph, 2010-2023.