schmeicheln

[ˈʃmaɪ̯çl̩n]

/[ˈʃmaɪ̯çl̩n]/ verb

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

The verdict

“schmeicheln” has 18 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #48,456. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,456
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
18
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - versuchen, jemandem zu gefallen oder jemanden zu beeinflussen, indem man Dinge sagt, die der Andere gern hört, die aber nicht unbedingt der eigenen Meinung entsprechen.

Corpus desk

Index DE-schmeicheln · schmeicheln · German

schmeicheln · rank #48,456 · 18 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #48,456
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Schmiere

Nearest frequency peer: Schmiere (+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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „schmeicheln“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „schmeicheln“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

schmeicheln vs schleichen
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for schmeicheln
PropertyValue
Headwordschmeicheln
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʃmaɪ̯çl̩n]
Letters11
Frequency rank#48,456
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „schmeicheln“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).schmeichelnliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Schmiere“ (#48,457), „schlimmeren“ (#48,454), „schmusen“ (#48,458). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „schmeicheln“ bei #48,456. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around schmeicheln (IPA [ˈʃmaɪ̯çl̩n]), averb. Corpus frequency is #48,456 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "versuchen, jemandem zu gefallen oder jemanden zu beeinflussen, indem man Dinge sagt, die der Andere gern hört, die aber nicht unbedingt der eigenen Meinung entsprechen.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for schmeicheln, with forms such as "cshmeicheln", "scchmeicheln", and "schemicheln". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "schleichen", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is schmeicheln, spelled S-C-H-M-E-I-C-H-E-L-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    versuchen, jemandem zu gefallen oder jemanden zu beeinflussen, indem man Dinge sagt, die der Andere gern hört, die aber nicht unbedingt der eigenen Meinung entsprechen.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sie schmeichelte ihr und bestach sie mit Geschenken; dann wieder war sie verschlossen und kalt. (Wasserman - Olivia oder Die unsichtbare Lampe)
  2. Das neue Kleid schmeichelt Ullas Figur sehr.

Synonyms

flattierenfuchsschwänzenfuchsschwänzeln

This word in other languages

flatter(English)halagar(Español)flatter(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cshmeicheln
  • scchmeicheln
  • schemicheln
  • schhmeicheln
  • schmeciheln
  • schmeiccheln
  • schmeicehln
  • schmeichelln
  • schmeichelnn
  • schmeichenl
  • schmeichheln
  • schmeichlen
  • schmeihceln
  • schmiecheln
  • schmmeicheln
  • scmheicheln
  • shcmeicheln
  • sschmeicheln

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of schmeicheln - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cshmeicheln2scchmeicheln1schemicheln2schhmeicheln1schmeciheln2schmeiccheln1schmeicehln2schmeichelln1
Edit distance from "schmeicheln"

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 "schmeicheln"?
"schmeicheln" is spelled S-C-H-M-E-I-C-H-E-L-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃmaɪ̯çl̩n].
What does "schmeicheln" mean?
As a verb, "schmeicheln" means: versuchen, jemandem zu gefallen oder jemanden zu beeinflussen, indem man Dinge sagt, die der Andere gern hört, die aber nicht unbedingt der eigenen Meinung entsprechen.
What words are commonly confused with "schmeicheln"?
"schmeicheln" is commonly confused with "schleichen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "schmeicheln"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schmeicheln" is [ˈʃmaɪ̯çl̩n]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schmeicheln" come from?
"schmeicheln" 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 "schmeicheln", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

schlimmeren#48,454Schreinerei#48,459Schlichtung#48,452Schulbeginn#48,461

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

Risikofaktor18 variantsrevanchieren18 variantsreflektierte18 variantsSprunggelenk18 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list