Wendehals
[ˈvɛndəˌhals]
The verdict
“Wendehals” is uncommon German (frequency #96,514 among 2,930 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #96,514
- frequency rank, German
- 2,930
- “W” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Vogel , der seinen Kopf ständig hin und her dreht
Corpus desk
Index DE-wendehals · Wendehals · German
Wendehals · rank #96,514 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #96,514
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,930
- PHOTO-FINISH Weltverbandes
Nearest frequency peer: Weltverbandes (-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.
Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „Wendehals“
Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer
- Weiterbesch…
Weiterbeschäftigung
3,491 corpus weight
- weiterentwi…
weiterentwickelten
3,490 corpus weight
- Weltverband…
Weltverbandes
3,488 corpus weight
- Wendehals
Wendehals
3,487 corpus weight
- wenk
wenk
3,486 corpus weight
- Whitechapel
Whitechapel
3,484 corpus weight
What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „Wendehals“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Wendehals |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈvɛndəˌhals] |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #96,514 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Langschwanz-Rang von „Wendehals“ im Deutschen
Rare enough to double-check
Wendehals is uncommon German at frequency #96,514 among 2,930 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈvɛndəˌhals]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Wendehals doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Wendehals, spelled W-E-N-D-E-H-A-L-S.
Definition
- 1Vogel , der seinen Kopf ständig hin und her dreht
- 2Vertreter der Vogelgattung Jynx
- 3politischer Opportunist, der seine Überzeugungen schnell ändert, wenn ihm dies zum Vorteil gereicht (vor allem nach der Wende von 1989 in der DDR)
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Wendehals appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Der Wendehals brütet gerne in Streuobstwiesen.
literarisch auf den Menschen übertragen: "Interessant aber nicht schön. - Diese Gegend verbirgt ihren Sinn, aber sie hat einen, den man errathen möchte: wohin ich sehe, lese ich Worte und Winke zu Worten, aber ich weiss nicht, wo der Satz beginnt, der das Räthsel aller dieser Winke löst, und ich werde zum Wendehals darüber, zu untersuchen, ob von hier ode…
Synonyms
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); 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
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Similar German words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Wendehals", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).