Schmuggel

[ˈʃmʊɡl̩]

/[ˈʃmʊɡl̩]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Schmuggel” has 13 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #42,793. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,793
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - heimlicher Transport zollpflichtiger oder verbotener Waren beziehungsweise von nicht zum Übertritt berechtigten Personen über Grenzen

Corpus desk

Index DE-schmuggel · Schmuggel · German

Schmuggel · rank #42,793 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,793
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Schmerzgrenze

Nearest frequency peer: Schmerzgrenze (-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 „Schmuggel“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Schmuggel“ 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).

Schmuggel vs schmuggeln
80% similar
Schmuggel vs Schmuggler
80% similar

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

Key facts for Schmuggel
PropertyValue
HeadwordSchmuggel
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈʃmʊɡl̩]
Letters9
Frequency rank#42,793
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Schmuggel“

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

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Schmerzgrenze“ (#42,792), „schmutziger“ (#42,794), „Schlümpfe“ (#42,791). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „Schmuggel“ bei #42,793. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around Schmuggel (IPA [ˈʃmʊɡl̩]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,793 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "heimlicher Transport zollpflichtiger oder verbotener Waren beziehungsweise von nicht zum Übertritt berechtigten Personen über Grenzen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Schmuggel, with forms such as "cshmuggel", "scchmuggel", and "schhmuggel". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "schmuggeln", "Schmuggler", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is Schmuggel, spelled S-C-H-M-U-G-G-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    heimlicher Transport zollpflichtiger oder verbotener Waren beziehungsweise von nicht zum Übertritt berechtigten Personen über Grenzen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In der Nachkriegszeit war Schmuggel an vielen Grenzen üblich.
  2. „Zu jener Zeit saß er eine dreimonatige Haftstrafe wegen Schmuggels ab - er hatte Feuersteine in den Hosentaschen nach Polen geschmuggelt.“

Synonyms

KonterbandeSchmuggeleiSchmuggeln

This word in other languages

contraband(English)contrabando(Español)contrebande(Français)contrabando(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cshmuggel
  • scchmuggel
  • schhmuggel
  • schmgugel
  • schmmuggel
  • schmugegl
  • schmugel
  • schmuggell
  • schmuggle
  • schumggel
  • scmhuggel
  • shcmuggel
  • sschmuggel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Schmuggel - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

cshmuggel2scchmuggel1schhmuggel1schmgugel2schmmuggel1schmugegl2schmugel1schmuggell1
Edit distance from "Schmuggel"

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 "Schmuggel"?
"Schmuggel" is spelled S-C-H-M-U-G-G-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃmʊɡl̩].
What does "Schmuggel" mean?
As a noun, "Schmuggel" means: heimlicher Transport zollpflichtiger oder verbotener Waren beziehungsweise von nicht zum Übertritt berechtigten Personen über Grenzen
What words are commonly confused with "Schmuggel"?
"Schmuggel" is commonly confused with "schmuggeln", "Schmuggler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Schmuggel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Schmuggel" is [ˈʃmʊɡl̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Schmuggel" come from?
"Schmuggel" 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 "Schmuggel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Schlümpfe#42,791schummeln#42,797Schikanen#42,788Rückschau#42,780

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Schächte13 variantsServietten13 variantsRumäniens13 variantsruckzuck13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list