Schmetterball

[ˈʃmɛtɐˌbal]

/[ˈʃmɛtɐˌbal]/ noun

The verdict

“Schmetterball” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sehr schnell gespielter Ball, der schwer abwehrbar ist

Corpus desk

Index DE-schmetterball · Schmetterball · German

Schmetterball · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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.

Key facts for Schmetterball
PropertyValue
HeadwordSchmetterball
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈʃmɛtɐˌbal]
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Schmetterball” sits in German frequency

Schmetterballfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Schmetterball is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈʃmɛtɐˌbal]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "sehr schnell gespielter Ball, der schwer abwehrbar ist".

Schmetterball doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is Schmetterball, spelled S-C-H-M-E-T-T-E-R-B-A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    sehr schnell gespielter Ball, der schwer abwehrbar ist

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Seine dauernden Schmetterbälle brachten seinen Gegner an den Rand der Verzweiflung.

Synonyms

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Schmetterball"?
"Schmetterball" is spelled S-C-H-M-E-T-T-E-R-B-A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃmɛtɐˌbal].
What does "Schmetterball" mean?
As a noun, "Schmetterball" means: sehr schnell gespielter Ball, der schwer abwehrbar ist
How do you pronounce "Schmetterball"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Schmetterball" is [ˈʃmɛtɐˌbal]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Schmetterball" come from?
"Schmetterball" 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.

What to do next

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list