schwerfällig

[ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌfɛlɪç]

/[ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌfɛlɪç]/ adj

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

The verdict

“schwerfällig” is uncommon German (frequency #54,871 among 8,027 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,871
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - langsam, ohne Leichtigkeit

Corpus desk

Index DE-schwerfallig · schwerfällig · German

schwerfällig · rank #54,871 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,871
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH schwachsinnig…

Nearest frequency peer: schwachsinnigen (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “schwerfällig”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “schwerfällig” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for schwerfällig
PropertyValue
Headwordschwerfällig
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌfɛlɪç]
Letters12
Frequency rank#54,871
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “schwerfällig” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).schwerfälligliegt hier:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „schwachsinnigen“ (#54,870), „Schwerindustrie“ (#54,872), „Schutzwall“ (#54,869). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

schwerfällig is uncommon German at frequency #54,871 among 8,027 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌfɛlɪç]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "langsam, ohne Leichtigkeit".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for schwerfällig, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is schwerfällig, spelled S-C-H-W-E-R-F-Ä-L-L-I-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    langsam, ohne Leichtigkeit

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Alkohol machte ihre Augen schwerfällig.
  2. Der Sachbearbeiter trottete so schwerfällig zu seinem Schreibtisch, wie man es von einem Beamten erwarten würde.

This word in other languages

sluggish(English)

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 "schwerfällig"?
"schwerfällig" is spelled S-C-H-W-E-R-F-Ä-L-L-I-G. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌfɛlɪç].
What does "schwerfällig" mean?
As an adjective, "schwerfällig" means: langsam, ohne Leichtigkeit
How do you pronounce "schwerfällig"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schwerfällig" is [ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌfɛlɪç]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schwerfällig" come from?
"schwerfällig" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "schwerfällig", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Schutzpatron#54,868Schrotflinte#54,866skrupellosen#54,887Rückennummer#54,850

What to do next

You've looked up "schwerfällig". Here's where to go from here.

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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