schwarzes Schaf

[ˌʃvaʁt͡səs ˈʃaːf]

/[ˌʃvaʁt͡səs ˈʃaːf]/ phrase

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency German
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - jemand, der sich von den anderen Mitgliedern einer Gemeinschaft (besonders einer Familie) negativ unterscheidet

Key facts for schwarzes Schaf
PropertyValue
Headwordschwarzes Schaf
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˌʃvaʁt͡səs ˈʃaːf]
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “schwarzes Schaf” sits in German frequency

schwarzes Schaf falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

schwarzes Schaf is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [ˌʃvaʁt͡səs ˈʃaːf]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "jemand, der sich von den anderen Mitgliedern einer Gemeinschaft (besonders einer Familie) negativ unterscheidet".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for schwarzes Schaf, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is schwarzes Schaf, spelled S-C-H-W-A-R-Z-E-S- -S-C-H-A-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemand, der sich von den anderen Mitgliedern einer Gemeinschaft (besonders einer Familie) negativ unterscheidet

This word in other languages

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 "schwarzes Schaf"?
"schwarzes Schaf" is spelled S-C-H-W-A-R-Z-E-S- -S-C-H-A-F. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌʃvaʁt͡səs ˈʃaːf].
What does "schwarzes Schaf" mean?
As a phrase, "schwarzes Schaf" means: jemand, der sich von den anderen Mitgliedern einer Gemeinschaft (besonders einer Familie) negativ unterscheidet
How do you pronounce "schwarzes Schaf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schwarzes Schaf" is [ˌʃvaʁt͡səs ˈʃaːf]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schwarzes Schaf" come from?
"schwarzes Schaf" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “schwarzes Schaf”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is S-C-H-W-A-R-Z-E-S- -S-C-H-A-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˌʃvaʁt͡səs ˈʃaːf] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list