Schlüsselfigur

[ˈʃlʏsl̩fiˌɡuːɐ̯]

/[ˈʃlʏsl̩fiˌɡuːɐ̯]/ noun

The verdict

“Schlüsselfigur” is uncommon German (frequency #76,131 among 8,027 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,131
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - wichtige Figur zum Beispiel in einem Roman oder Theaterstück, deren Handeln den Schlüssel zur Erklärung bestimmter Zusammenhänge bildet

Corpus desk

Index DE-schlusselfigur · Schlüsselfigur · German

Schlüsselfigur · rank #76,131 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,131
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Schlusskurse

Nearest frequency peer: Schlusskurse (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „Schlüsselfigur“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „Schlüsselfigur“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Schlüsselfigur
PropertyValue
HeadwordSchlüsselfigur
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈʃlʏsl̩fiˌɡuːɐ̯]
Letters14
Frequency rank#76,131
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Schlüsselfigur“ im Deutschen

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Schlüsselfigurfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Schlusskurse“ (#76,130), „schlüssiges“ (#76,132), „Schlosserei“ (#76,129). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „Schlüsselfigur“ bei #76,131. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Schlüsselfigur is uncommon German at frequency #76,131 among 8,027 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈʃlʏsl̩fiˌɡuːɐ̯]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for Schlüsselfigur in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Schlüsselfigur, spelled S-C-H-L-Ü-S-S-E-L-F-I-G-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    wichtige Figur zum Beispiel in einem Roman oder Theaterstück, deren Handeln den Schlüssel zur Erklärung bestimmter Zusammenhänge bildet
  2. 2
    zentrale Figur mit wesentlichem Einfluss in einem bestimmten Sachzusammenhang, zum Beispiel in der geschichtlichen Entwicklung, Philosophie, Kunst und Ähnlichem
  3. 3
    wichtige, einflussreiche Person in einer Schlüsselposition in einer Organisation, Gruppe oder einem Unternehmen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Schlüsselfigur appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Jay Gatsby ist die Schlüsselfigur des Romans „Der große Gatsby“.
  2. Nietzsche war eine Schlüsselfigur der europäischen Moderne.

Synonyms

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 "Schlüsselfigur"?
"Schlüsselfigur" is spelled S-C-H-L-Ü-S-S-E-L-F-I-G-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃlʏsl̩fiˌɡuːɐ̯].
What does "Schlüsselfigur" mean?
As a noun, "Schlüsselfigur" means: wichtige Figur zum Beispiel in einem Roman oder Theaterstück, deren Handeln den Schlüssel zur Erklärung bestimmter Zusammenhänge bildet
How do you pronounce "Schlüsselfigur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Schlüsselfigur" is [ˈʃlʏsl̩fiˌɡuːɐ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Schlüsselfigur" come from?
"Schlüsselfigur" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Schlüsselfigur", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list