schwul
German, adjective
schwul is spelled S-C-H-W-U-L (6 letters) and appears 14 times per million words in written German, the 5,262nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Schwul is a German adjective meaning “gay” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With an umlaut, schwül is a different word: “sultry, close, oppressive, muggy”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “als Mann homosexuelle Neigungen besitzend”.
What does schwul mean in English?
adjective
- 1
colloquialgay
- 2
derogatoryslanghaving effeminate or flamboyant qualities; fruity, queer, swishy
adjective
- 1
sultry, close, oppressive, muggy
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. als Mann homosexuelle Neigungen besitzend 2. für (männliche) Homosexuelle charakteristisch, zu Homosexuellen gehörend 3. für (insbesondere männliche) Homosexuelle gedacht, bestimmt 4. lesbisch
adjective: 1. unangenehm heiß und feucht
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 schwul
- schwuler masculine nominative singular
- am schwulsten superlative
- schwule feminine nominative singular
- schwules neuter nominative singular
- schwulen genitive masculine singular
- schwulem dative masculine singular
- der schwule definite includes-article masculine
- die schwule definite feminine includes-article
- das schwule definite includes-article neuter
- die schwulen definite includes-article nominative
- des schwulen definite genitive includes-article
- der schwulen definite feminine genitive
- dem schwulen dative definite includes-article
- schwüler comparative
- am schwülsten superlative
- schwüle positive nominative strong
- schwüles positive nominative strong
- schwülen positive genitive strong
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to schwul
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is schwul in German?
schwul appears 14 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).