Kopfschütteln
[ˈkɔp͡fˌʃʏtl̩n]
The verdict
“Kopfschütteln” has 20 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #26,486. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #26,486
- frequency rank, German
- 55,078
- “K” headwords
- 20
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Hin- und Herbewegung des Kopfes als Geste der Ablehnung/Verneinung
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Kopfschütteln |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈkɔp͡fˌʃʏtl̩n] |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #26,486 |
| Misspellings tracked | 20 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Kopfschütteln” sits in German frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 20 spelling variants around Kopfschütteln (IPA [ˈkɔp͡fˌʃʏtl̩n]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,486 among 55,078 “K” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Hin- und Herbewegung des Kopfes als Geste der Ablehnung/Verneinung".
Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for Kopfschütteln, with forms such as "kkopfschütteln", "kofpschütteln", and "kopfcshütteln". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "kopfschüttelnd", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Kopfschütteln, spelled K-O-P-F-S-C-H-Ü-T-T-E-L-N.
Definition
- 1Hin- und Herbewegung des Kopfes als Geste der Ablehnung/Verneinung
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- kkopfschütteln
- kofpschütteln
- kopfcshütteln
- kopffschütteln
- kopfscchütteln
- kopfschhütteln
- kopfschtüteln
- kopfschüteln
- kopfschütetln
- kopfschüttelln
- kopfschüttelnn
- kopfschüttenl
- kopfschüttlen
- kopfscühtteln
- kopfshcütteln
- kopfsschütteln
- koppfschütteln
- kopsfchütteln
- kpofschütteln
- okpfschütteln
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Kopfschütteln - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Kopfschütteln"?
What does "Kopfschütteln" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Kopfschütteln"?
How do you pronounce "Kopfschütteln"?
What language does "Kopfschütteln" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Kopfschütteln”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is K-O-P-F-S-C-H-Ü-T-T-E-L-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈkɔp͡fˌʃʏtl̩n] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “kopfschüttelnd” - see the side-by-side comparison. Kopfschütteln vs kopfschüttelnd
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Same frequency band
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.