Kuppelei
German, noun/kʊpəˈlaɪ̯/
Kuppelei is spelled K-U-P-P-E-L-E-I (8 letters) and appears about once in every 12 million words in written German, the 187,243rd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Kuppelei is a German feminine noun meaning “matchmaking” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “Herstellung/Vermittlung von Kontakten zwischen Personen zwecks Heirat oder - oft bezahlter - sexueller…”.
What does Kuppelei mean in English?
noun
- 1
derogatoryfemininematchmaking
Das einzige, was mich an meiner besten Freundin nervt, sind ihre ewigen Kuppeleien.
- 2
femininethe crime of enabling illicit sexual relations for financial gain, e.g. by letting hotel rooms to unmarried couples
In Deutschland war die Kuppelei bis 1973 strafbar, in manchen islamischen Ländern ist sie es auch heute noch.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Herstellung/Vermittlung von Kontakten zwischen Personen zwecks Heirat oder - oft bezahlter - sexueller Aktivitäten
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of Kuppelei
- Kuppeleien plural
- Kupplerei alternative archaic
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Kuppelei?
- /kʊpəˈlaɪ̯/
- [kʊpəˈlaɪ̯]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to Kuppelei
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is Kuppelei in German?
Kuppelei appears about once in every 12 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).