zischen
German, verb
zischen is spelled Z-I-S-C-H-E-N (7 letters) and appears about once in every 1 million words in written German, the 41,097th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Zischen is a German verb meaning “to hiss, to sizzle, to whiz” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Zischen is a different word: “gerund of zischen”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “ein Geräusch machen wie Luft, die durch eine enge Öffnung strömt”.
What does zischen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to hiss, to sizzle, to whiz
- 2
to move swiftly making a hissing sound
Über mich weg zischte ein Schrapnell.
noun
- 1
neutergerund of zischen
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. ein Geräusch machen wie Luft, die durch eine enge Öffnung strömt 2. mit zischendem Geräusch strömen 3. in scharfem Ton mehr oder weniger flüsternd reden 4. sich schnell fortbewegen
noun: 1. zischendes Geräusch
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 zischen
- zischt present singular third-person
- zischte past
- gezischt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- sein auxiliary
- haben or sein auxiliary
- zischend participle present
- zische first-person indicative present
- zischst indicative present second-person
- zischest second-person singular subjunctive
- zischet plural second-person subjunctive
- zischten first-person indicative plural
- zischtest indicative preterite second-person
- zischtet indicative plural preterite
- zisch imperative second-person singular
- zische! imperative singular
- zisch! imperative singular
- zischt! imperative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to zischen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is zischen in German?
zischen appears about once in every 1 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).