schmalem

[ˈʃmaːləm]

/[ˈʃmaːləm]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“schmalem” is uncommon German (frequency #70,773 among 8,027 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,773
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schmal

Corpus desk

Index DE-schmalem · schmalem · German

schmalem · rank #70,773 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,773
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH schmackhafte

Nearest frequency peer: schmackhafte (-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 „schmalem“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for schmalem
PropertyValue
Headwordschmalem
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈʃmaːləm]
Letters8
Frequency rank#70,773
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „schmalem“ im Deutschen

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

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „schmackhafte“ (#70,772), „schmerzlichen“ (#70,774), „schlussfolgern“ (#70,771). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „schmalem“ bei #70,773. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

schmalem is uncommon German at frequency #70,773 among 8,027 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈʃmaːləm]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for schmalem in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is schmalem, spelled S-C-H-M-A-L-E-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schmal
  2. 2
    Dativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schmal

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 "schmalem"?
"schmalem" is spelled S-C-H-M-A-L-E-M. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃmaːləm].
What does "schmalem" mean?
As an adjective, "schmalem" means: Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schmal
How do you pronounce "schmalem"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schmalem" is [ˈʃmaːləm]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schmalem" come from?
"schmalem" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "schmalem", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Schweife#70,791Sarstedt#70,754sponsert#70,824reinform#70,720

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list