Phrasenschwein
German, noun/ˈfʁaːzənˌʃvaɪ̯n/
Phrasenschwein is spelled P-H-R-A-S-E-N-S-C-H-W-E-I-N (14 letters) and appears about once in every 7 million words in written German, the 138,538th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Phrasenschwein is a German neuter noun meaning “an (actual or rhetorical) money box collecting fines for the use of hackneyed phrases; a “cliché box” (swear box for clichés)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “hohles Gefäß in Form eines Schweins, in das derjenige, der bei der Verwendung einer Phrase ertappt wird, ein…”.
What does Phrasenschwein mean in English?
noun
- 1
neuteran (actual or rhetorical) money box collecting fines for the use of hackneyed phrases; a “cliché box” (swear box for clichés)
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. hohles Gefäß in Form eines Schweins, in das derjenige, der bei der Verwendung einer Phrase ertappt wird, ein Strafgeld einwirft 2. Person, die häufig Phrasen verwendet
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 Phrasenschwein
- Phrasenschweins genitive
- Phrasenschweine plural
- Phrasenschweinchen diminutive neuter
- Phrasenschweinen dative definite plural
- Phrasenschweines genitive singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce Phrasenschwein?
- /ˈfʁaːzənˌʃvaɪ̯n/
- [ˈfʁaːzn̩ˌʃvaɪ̯n]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is Phrasenschwein in German?
Phrasenschwein appears about once in every 7 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).