Schmiergelder

[ˈʃmiːɐ̯ˌɡɛldɐ]

/[ˈʃmiːɐ̯ˌɡɛldɐ]/ noun

The verdict

“Schmiergelder” is uncommon German (frequency #94,834 among 8,027 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,834
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schmiergeld

Corpus desk

Index DE-schmiergelder · Schmiergelder · German

Schmiergelder · rank #94,834 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #94,834
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH schmerzvoll

Nearest frequency peer: schmerzvoll (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Schmiergelder”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Schmiergelder” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Schmiergelder
PropertyValue
HeadwordSchmiergelder
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈʃmiːɐ̯ˌɡɛldɐ]
Letters13
Frequency rank#94,834
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “Schmiergelder” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Schmiergelderliegt hier:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „schmerzvoll“ (#94,833), „schmink“ (#94,835), „schmerzhaftes“ (#94,832). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Schmiergelder is uncommon German at frequency #94,834 among 8,027 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈʃmiːɐ̯ˌɡɛldɐ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Schmiergelder, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Schmiergelder, spelled S-C-H-M-I-E-R-G-E-L-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schmiergeld
  2. 2
    Genitiv Plural des Substantivs Schmiergeld
  3. 3
    Akkusativ Plural des Substantivs Schmiergeld

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 "Schmiergelder"?
"Schmiergelder" is spelled S-C-H-M-I-E-R-G-E-L-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃmiːɐ̯ˌɡɛldɐ].
What does "Schmiergelder" mean?
As a noun, "Schmiergelder" means: Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schmiergeld
How do you pronounce "Schmiergelder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Schmiergelder" is [ˈʃmiːɐ̯ˌɡɛldɐ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Schmiergelder" come from?
"Schmiergelder" 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 "Schmiergelder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

What to do next

You've looked up "Schmiergelder". Here's where to go from here.

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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