Schadenfreude
[ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔɪ̯də]
The verdict
“Schadenfreude” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #33,795 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #33,795
- frequency rank, German
- 13
- letters
- 20
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Vergnügen über das Missgeschick oder Unglück eines anderen
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Schadenfreude |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔɪ̯də] |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #33,795 |
| Misspellings tracked | 20 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Schadenfreude” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Schadenfreude is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔɪ̯də]. Corpus data places it at rank #33,795 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Vergnügen über das Missgeschick oder Unglück eines anderen".
Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for Schadenfreude, with forms such as "cshadenfreude", "scahdenfreude", and "scchadenfreude". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is Schadenfreude, spelled S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E.
Definition
- 1Vergnügen über das Missgeschick oder Unglück eines anderen
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cshadenfreude,scahdenfreude,scchadenfreude,schaddenfreude,schadefnreude,schadenferude,schadenffreude,schadenfredue,schadenfreudde,schadenfreued,schadenfrreude,schadenfruede,schadennfreude,schadenrfeude,schadnefreude,schaednfreude,schdaenfreude,schhadenfreude,shcadenfreude,sschadenfreude
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Schadenfreude - 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 "Schadenfreude"?
What does "Schadenfreude" mean?
What are common misspellings of "Schadenfreude"?
How do you pronounce "Schadenfreude"?
What language does "Schadenfreude" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Schadenfreude”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔɪ̯də] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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.