schwänzeln

[ˈʃvɛnt͡sl̩n]

/[ˈʃvɛnt͡sl̩n]/ verb

The verdict

“schwänzeln” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - mit dem Hinterteil, insbesondere dem Schwanz wackeln bzw. wedeln

Corpus desk

Index DE-schwanzeln · schwänzeln · German

schwänzeln · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for schwänzeln
PropertyValue
Headwordschwänzeln
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʃvɛnt͡sl̩n]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „schwänzeln“ im Deutschen

schwänzelnsitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

schwänzeln is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈʃvɛnt͡sl̩n]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for schwänzeln, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is schwänzeln, spelled S-C-H-W-Ä-N-Z-E-L-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    mit dem Hinterteil, insbesondere dem Schwanz wackeln bzw. wedeln
  2. 2
    unterwürfig tun

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. „Bei zunehmender Entfernung vom Bienenstock zur Futterquelle schwänzeln die Bienen im Mittelstück des Tanzes heftiger und der Ablauf des Schwänzeltanzes dauert folglicherweise länger.“

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "schwänzeln"?
"schwänzeln" is spelled S-C-H-W-Ä-N-Z-E-L-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃvɛnt͡sl̩n].
What does "schwänzeln" mean?
As a verb, "schwänzeln" means: mit dem Hinterteil, insbesondere dem Schwanz wackeln bzw. wedeln
How do you pronounce "schwänzeln"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schwänzeln" is [ˈʃvɛnt͡sl̩n]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schwänzeln" come from?
"schwänzeln" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list