schnappen
German, verb/ˈʃnapən/
schnappen is spelled S-C-H-N-A-P-P-E-N (9 letters) and appears 2.8 times per million words in written German, the 18,843rd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Schnappen is a German verb meaning “to snap (with one’s mouth)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “sich schnell und meist geräuschvoll in eine feste Position bewegen”.
What does schnappen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to snap (with one’s mouth)
- 2
to breathe, gasp
frische Luft schnappen
- 3
to catch; to seize
- 4
colloquialto nab (a criminal)
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. sich schnell und meist geräuschvoll in eine feste Position bewegen 2. versuchen, mit dem Maul oder dem Schnabel etwas zu fassen bekommen 3. schnell nach etwas greifen 4. jemanden festnehmen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of schnappen
- schnappt present singular third-person
- schnappte past
- geschnappt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- schnappend participle present
- schnappe first-person indicative present
- schnappst indicative present second-person
- schnappest second-person singular subjunctive
- schnappet plural second-person subjunctive
- schnappten first-person indicative plural
- schnapptest indicative preterite second-person
- schnapptet indicative plural preterite
- schnapp imperative second-person singular
- habe geschnappt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben geschnappt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- schnapp! imperative singular
- schnappe! imperative singular
- schnappt! imperative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce schnappen?
- /ˈʃnapən/
- [ˈʃnapən]
- [ˈʃnapm̩]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to schnappen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is schnappen in German?
schnappen appears 2.8 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).