schmierig

[ˈʃmiːʁɪç]

/[ˈʃmiːʁɪç]/ adj

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

The verdict

“schmierig” is uncommon German (frequency #62,828 among 8,027 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,828
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - feucht klebrig, glatt rutschig

Corpus desk

Index DE-schmierig · schmierig · German

schmierig · rank #62,828 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,828
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Schlüsselloch

Nearest frequency peer: Schlüsselloch (-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 „schmierig“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for schmierig
PropertyValue
Headwordschmierig
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈʃmiːʁɪç]
Letters9
Frequency rank#62,828
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „schmierig“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.schmierigfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Schlüsselloch“ (#62,827), „Schnipsel“ (#62,829), „Schleiz“ (#62,826). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „schmierig“ bei #62,828. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

schmierig is uncommon German at frequency #62,828 among 8,027 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈʃmiːʁɪç]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for schmierig, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is schmierig, spelled S-C-H-M-I-E-R-I-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    feucht klebrig, glatt rutschig
  2. 2
    glatt, widerlich, unangenehm freundlich
  3. 3
    unanständig, verfänglich

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Weil die schmierige Unterlage keinen Halt bot, rutschte ich aus.
  2. Dieser schmierige Typ war mir zu aufdringlich.

This word in other languages

greasy(English)poisseux(Français)

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 "schmierig"?
"schmierig" is spelled S-C-H-M-I-E-R-I-G. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃmiːʁɪç].
What does "schmierig" mean?
As an adjective, "schmierig" means: feucht klebrig, glatt rutschig
How do you pronounce "schmierig"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schmierig" is [ˈʃmiːʁɪç]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schmierig" come from?
"schmierig" 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 "schmierig", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Schnipsel#62,829Schöpfers#62,840Ruhepause#62,809servierte#62,847

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list