schnapps

/ʃnɑps/

//ʃnɑps// noun

"schnapps" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“schnapps” is uncommon English (frequency #71,888 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,888
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of distilled alcoholic beverage (liquor), often with a herbal or fruit flavoring, typically drunk neat as an apéritif or digestif.

Corpus desk

Index EN-schnapps · schnapps · English

schnapps · rank #71,888 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #71,888
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH scaredy

Nearest frequency peer: scaredy (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Long-tail ranks near “schnapps”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “schnapps” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for schnapps
PropertyValue
Headwordschnapps
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃnɑps/
Letters8
Frequency rank#71,888
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “schnapps” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).schnappsfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “scaredy” (#71,887), “Schrödinger” (#71,890), “satay” (#71,884). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “schnapps” is #71,888. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

schnapps is uncommon English at frequency #71,888 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ʃnɑps/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for schnapps in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Schnaps. The correct English form is schnapps, spelled S-C-H-N-A-P-P-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of distilled alcoholic beverage (liquor), often with a herbal or fruit flavoring, typically drunk neat as an apéritif or digestif.
  2. 2
    A serving of this beverage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. apple schnapps; peach schnapps
  2. “What happened?” “You drank about a bottle of vodka and ten peppermint schnapps is what happened. Come on, up.”

Etymology

Borrowed from German Schnaps.

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "schnapps"?
"schnapps" is spelled S-C-H-N-A-P-P-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃnɑps/.
What does "schnapps" mean?
As a noun, "schnapps" means: A type of distilled alcoholic beverage (liquor), often with a herbal or fruit flavoring, typically drunk neat as an apéritif or digestif.
How do you pronounce "schnapps"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schnapps" is /ʃnɑps/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "schnapps"?
Borrowed from German Schnaps. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list