Zugzwang

[ˈt͡suːkˌt͡svaŋ]

/[ˈt͡suːkˌt͡svaŋ]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Zugzwang” has 13 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #49,420. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,420
frequency rank, German
1,996
“Z” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Zwang, einen Zug ausführen zu müssen, wenn sich dieser negativ auf das eigene Spiel auswirken wird

Corpus desk

Index DE-zugzwang · Zugzwang · German

Zugzwang · rank #49,420 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #49,420
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,996
  • PHOTO-FINISH zugeordneten

Nearest frequency peer: zugeordneten (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Zugzwang“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Zugzwang“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Zugzwang vs Zugang
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Zugzwang
PropertyValue
HeadwordZugzwang
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈt͡suːkˌt͡svaŋ]
Letters8
Frequency rank#49,420
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Zugzwang“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Zugzwangliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „zugeordneten“ (#49,419), „Zulassungen“ (#49,421), „Zobel“ (#49,418). Unter 1,996 „Z“-Lemmata liegt „Zugzwang“ bei #49,420. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around Zugzwang (IPA [ˈt͡suːkˌt͡svaŋ]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #49,420 among 1,996 “Z” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Zugzwang, with forms such as "uzgzwang", "zguzwang", and "zuggzwang". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Zugang", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is Zugzwang, spelled Z-U-G-Z-W-A-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Zwang, einen Zug ausführen zu müssen, wenn sich dieser negativ auf das eigene Spiel auswirken wird
  2. 2
    der Zwang, etwas zu tun zu müssen, eine Entscheidung zu fällen; diese Handlung muss aber nicht zwangsläufig benachteiligende Folgen haben

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Das Spiel war lange Zeit ausgeglichen, aber schlussendlich verlor er wegen Zugzwang.
  2. „Einmal mehr ist Schwarz in Zugzwang, weil seine Figuren die Damenflügelbauern verteidigen müssen.“

This word in other languages

zugzwang(English)zugzwang(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • uzgzwang
  • zguzwang
  • zuggzwang
  • zugwzang
  • zugzawng
  • zugzwagn
  • zugzwangg
  • zugzwanng
  • zugzwnag
  • zugzwwang
  • zugzzwang
  • zuzgwang
  • zzugzwang

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Zugzwang - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

uzgzwang2zguzwang2zuggzwang1zugwzang2zugzawng2zugzwagn2zugzwangg1zugzwanng1
Edit distance from "Zugzwang"

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 "Zugzwang"?
"Zugzwang" is spelled Z-U-G-Z-W-A-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈt͡suːkˌt͡svaŋ].
What does "Zugzwang" mean?
As a noun, "Zugzwang" means: Zwang, einen Zug ausführen zu müssen, wenn sich dieser negativ auf das eigene Spiel auswirken wird
What words are commonly confused with "Zugzwang"?
"Zugzwang" is commonly confused with "Zugang". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Zugzwang"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Zugzwang" is [ˈt͡suːkˌt͡svaŋ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Zugzwang" come from?
"Zugzwang" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "Zugzwang", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

zierlich#49,416Abonnent#49,441abtragen#49,443adaptive#49,447

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Zinssätze13 variantsZeitraffer13 variantsabgelegen13 variantsAbweisung13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list