schlängeln
German, verb[ˈʃlɛŋl̩n]
schlängeln is spelled S-C-H-L-Ä-N-G-E-L-N (10 letters) and appears about once in every 3 million words in written German, the 83,766th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Schlängeln is a German verb meaning “to move in a snakelike manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “sich in Windungen und Kurven bewegend/verlaufend in eine Richtung fortbewegen/fortsetzen”.
What does schlängeln mean in English?
verb
- 1
to move in a snakelike manner
Eine Blindschleiche schlängelt sich über den Weg.
- 2
to pick one's way, to snake (to move carefully in a winding path around various obstacles)
Er schlängelte sich durch die Menschenmenge.
- 3
to snake, to meander, to twist (to follow a curving or winding path; of roads, rails, etc.)
Der Weg schlängelt sich durch den Wald.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. sich in Windungen und Kurven bewegend/verlaufend in eine Richtung fortbewegen/fortsetzen 2. sich durch ein enges Umfeld seinen Weg bahnen
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 schlängeln
- schlängelt present singular third-person
- schlängelte past
- geschlängelt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- schlängelnd participle present
- schlängle first-person indicative present
- schlängele first-person indicative present
- schlängel first-person indicative present
- schlängelst indicative present second-person
- schlängelest second-person singular subjunctive
- schlänglest second-person singular subjunctive
- schlängelet plural second-person subjunctive
- schlänglet plural second-person subjunctive
- schlängelten first-person indicative plural
- schlängeltest indicative preterite second-person
- schlängeltet indicative plural preterite
- schlängel! imperative singular
- schlängle! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce schlängeln?
- [ˈʃlɛŋl̩n]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to schlängeln
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is schlängeln in German?
schlängeln appears about once in every 3 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).