folgenschwer

[ˈfɔlɡn̩ˌʃveːɐ̯]

/[ˈfɔlɡn̩ˌʃveːɐ̯]/ adj

The verdict

“folgenschwer” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - schwere, schwerwiegende (meist im negativen Sinn) Folgen habend, folgenreich seiend, schicksalhaft schwer seiend, stark negativ seiend

Corpus desk

Index DE-folgenschwer · folgenschwer · German

folgenschwer · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for folgenschwer
PropertyValue
Headwordfolgenschwer
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈfɔlɡn̩ˌʃveːɐ̯]
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „folgenschwer“ im Deutschen

folgenschwerschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

folgenschwer is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈfɔlɡn̩ˌʃveːɐ̯]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "schwere, schwerwiegende (meist im negativen Sinn) Folgen habend, folgenreich seiend, schicksalhaft schwer seiend, stark negativ seiend".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for folgenschwer, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is folgenschwer, spelled F-O-L-G-E-N-S-C-H-W-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    schwere, schwerwiegende (meist im negativen Sinn) Folgen habend, folgenreich seiend, schicksalhaft schwer seiend, stark negativ seiend

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how folgenschwer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In der aktuellen Weltpolitik werden heutzutage möglicherweise folgenschwere Entscheidungen getroffen.
  2. „Hinter dem 82. Breitengrad widerfuhr ihnen ein folgenschweres Unglück.“

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "folgenschwer"?
"folgenschwer" is spelled F-O-L-G-E-N-S-C-H-W-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfɔlɡn̩ˌʃveːɐ̯].
What does "folgenschwer" mean?
As an adjective, "folgenschwer" means: schwere, schwerwiegende (meist im negativen Sinn) Folgen habend, folgenreich seiend, schicksalhaft schwer seiend, stark negativ seiend
How do you pronounce "folgenschwer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "folgenschwer" is [ˈfɔlɡn̩ˌʃveːɐ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "folgenschwer" come from?
"folgenschwer" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list