Gretchenfrage.
a question as to the addressee's religiosity or belief in God
Meaning & usage
a question as to the addressee's religiosity or belief in God
a question that goes to the core of an issue, especially by exposing fundamental conflicts
a crucial question that is difficult or unpleasant to answer truthfully
Where this word comes from
From Gretchen (diminutive of Grete = Margarete) + Frage (“question”). Refers to Goethe's Faust (published 1808), where the character of Gretchen asks the protagonist, who is secretly in league with the devil: Nun sag, wie hast du's mit der Religion? (“Now say, what is your stance on religion? ≈ what's the role of religion in your life?”). The expression of Gretchenfrage was coined in the mid-19th century (attested 1865 in Löwe [ed.], Schlesische Provinzialblätter, issue 1168, p. 147).
Try it on your idea.
Gretchenfrage has 13 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.