schmachten
[ˈʃmaxtn̩]
The verdict
“schmachten” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency German
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - eine irgendwie geartete Entbehrung erleiden (insbesondere hungern und/oder dürsten)
Corpus desk
Index DE-schmachten · schmachten · German
schmachten · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | schmachten |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈʃmaxtn̩] |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „schmachten“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
schmachten is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈʃmaxtn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for schmachten in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is schmachten, spelled S-C-H-M-A-C-H-T-E-N.
Definition
- 1eine irgendwie geartete Entbehrung erleiden (insbesondere hungern und/oder dürsten)
- 2sich schmerzlich nach jemandem oder nach etwas sehnen, vor Sehnsucht dahinwelken
- 3seinen Hunger und Durst bei jemandem stillen, ohne etwas zu bezahlen
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how schmachten appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
„Kinder von 1 bis 7 Jahren überstehen die See-Reise selten, und müssen die Eltern ihre Kinder manchmal durch Mangel, Hunger, Durst und dergleichen Zufälle elendiglich schmachten, sterben und ins Wasser geworfen sehen.“
Der grausame Ritter ließ die Gefangenen monatelang im Kerker schmachten.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.