Which to use
“Schmuggel” is a noun and “schmuggeln” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,793
- “Schmuggel” frequency rank
- #35,435
- “schmuggeln” frequency rank
- 78228
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schmuggel | schmuggeln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | heimlicher Transport zollpflichtiger oder verbotener Waren beziehungsweise von nicht zum Übertritt berechtigten Personen über Grenzen | illegal Ware über die Grenze ein- oder ausführen, ohne Zoll und andere Steuern oder Abgaben zu zahlen |
Where the eye mixes Schmuggel and schmuggeln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Schmuggel runs 9 letters (CCCCVCCVC) against schmuggeln's 10 (CCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Schmuggel vs schmuggeln
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schmuggel is [ˈʃmʊɡl̩] while schmuggeln is [ˈʃmʊɡl̩n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Schmuggel” sits inside “schmuggeln”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78228, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schmuggel is recorded at frequency rank #42,793, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃmʊɡl̩]. schmuggeln is at rank #35,435, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmʊɡl̩n].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 78228, this pair ranks #242,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Schmuggel vs schmuggeln
Shared letters: ceghlmsu. Private to "Schmuggel": -. Private to "schmuggeln": n.
"Schmuggel" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "schmuggeln" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Schmuggel ← cshmuggel · scchmuggel · schhmuggel · schmgugel · schmmuggel · schmugegl · schmugel · schmuggell
- schmuggeln ← cshmuggeln · scchmuggeln · schhmuggeln · schmgugeln · schmmuggeln · schmugegln · schmugeln · schmuggelln
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Schmuggel" and "schmuggeln" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Schmuggel" or "schmuggeln" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schmuggel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schmuggeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #242,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schmuggel" and "schmuggeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schmuggel vs Schmuggler". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #242,978 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.