schmökern

[ˈʃmøːkɐn]

/[ˈʃmøːkɐn]/ verb

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

The verdict

“schmökern” is uncommon German (frequency #80,892 among 8,027 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,892
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - mit Vergnügen in einem (eher einfachen, spannenden, unterhaltenden) Buch lesen

Corpus desk

Index DE-schmokern · schmökern · German

schmökern · rank #80,892 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,892
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH schnarch

Nearest frequency peer: schnarch (+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 „schmökern“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for schmökern
PropertyValue
Headwordschmökern
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʃmøːkɐn]
Letters9
Frequency rank#80,892
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „schmökern“ im Deutschen

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

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „schnarch“ (#80,893), „schmatz“ (#80,890), „Schneiderei“ (#80,894). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „schmökern“ bei #80,892. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

schmökern is uncommon German at frequency #80,892 among 8,027 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈʃmøːkɐn]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "mit Vergnügen in einem (eher einfachen, spannenden, unterhaltenden) Buch lesen".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for schmökern, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is schmökern, spelled S-C-H-M-Ö-K-E-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    mit Vergnügen in einem (eher einfachen, spannenden, unterhaltenden) Buch lesen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Am Sonntag könnte ich den ganzen Tag in alten Büchern schmökern.
  2. Einen Ohrensessel, einen Tee, einen Krimi: mehr brauche ich nicht, um am Abend mal zu schmökern.

This word in other languages

bouquiner(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 "schmökern"?
"schmökern" is spelled S-C-H-M-Ö-K-E-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃmøːkɐn].
What does "schmökern" mean?
As a verb, "schmökern" means: mit Vergnügen in einem (eher einfachen, spannenden, unterhaltenden) Buch lesen
How do you pronounce "schmökern"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schmökern" is [ˈʃmøːkɐn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schmökern" come from?
"schmökern" 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 "schmökern", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

schattige#80,883Sedierung#80,907Sekretärs#80,917rumkommen#80,866

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list