schnüffeln

[ˈʃnʏfl̩n]

/[ˈʃnʏfl̩n]/ verb

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

The verdict

“schnüffeln” has 15 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #46,971. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,971
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - etwas riechend zu erkennen suchen, etwas beriechen

Corpus desk

Index DE-schnuffeln · schnüffeln · German

schnüffeln · rank #46,971 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,971
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Schnappschüsse

Nearest frequency peer: Schnappschüsse (-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 „schnüffeln“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „schnüffeln“ 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).

schnüffeln vs Schnupfen
60% similar
schnüffeln vs Schaufeln
60% similar

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

Key facts for schnüffeln
PropertyValue
Headwordschnüffeln
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʃnʏfl̩n]
Letters10
Frequency rank#46,971
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „schnüffeln“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).schnüffelnliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Schnappschüsse“ (#46,970), „schockierende“ (#46,972), „Schnalle“ (#46,969). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „schnüffeln“ bei #46,971. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around schnüffeln (IPA [ˈʃnʏfl̩n]), averb. Corpus frequency is #46,971 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for schnüffeln, with forms such as "cshnüffeln", "scchnüffeln", and "schhnüffeln". 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, "Schnupfen", "Schaufeln", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is schnüffeln, spelled S-C-H-N-Ü-F-F-E-L-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas riechend zu erkennen suchen, etwas beriechen
  2. 2
    etwas ausspionieren
  3. 3
    Drogen über die Nase einnehmen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Hund schnüffelte an dem Baum.
  2. „Da wird dann an jeder einzelnen geschnüffelt und gerochen - und auch wenn sonst nichts gefunden wird, eine Palette Teelichte und das eine oder andere Gebinde Duftkerzen wird garantiert mitgenommen.“

Synonyms

riechenschnuppernspionieren

This word in other languages

sniff(English)olisquear(Español)renifler(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cshnüffeln
  • scchnüffeln
  • schhnüffeln
  • schnfüfeln
  • schnnüffeln
  • schnüfefln
  • schnüfeln
  • schnüffelln
  • schnüffelnn
  • schnüffenl
  • schnüfflen
  • schünffeln
  • scnhüffeln
  • shcnüffeln
  • sschnüffeln

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of schnüffeln - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cshnüffeln2scchnüffeln1schhnüffeln1schnfüfeln2schnnüffeln1schnüfefln2schnüfeln1schnüffelln1
Edit distance from "schnüffeln"

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 "schnüffeln"?
"schnüffeln" is spelled S-C-H-N-Ü-F-F-E-L-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃnʏfl̩n].
What does "schnüffeln" mean?
As a verb, "schnüffeln" means: etwas riechend zu erkennen suchen, etwas beriechen
What words are commonly confused with "schnüffeln"?
"schnüffeln" is commonly confused with "Schnupfen", "Schaufeln". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "schnüffeln"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schnüffeln" is [ˈʃnʏfl̩n]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schnüffeln" come from?
"schnüffeln" 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 "schnüffeln", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Reformator#46,936referieren#46,935Strasbourg#47,028suspension#47,038

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

Schenkeln15 variantsRotschopf15 variantsRegenfällen15 variantsSpielhallen15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list