zugzwang

[ˈsuɣ̞swãŋ]

/[ˈsuɣ̞swãŋ]/ noun

The verdict

“zugzwang” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Posición en donde el jugador que está obligado a mover, debido a ello, deberá empeorar su posición, de modo tal que sería mejor que pasara su turno lo cual está prohibido.

Corpus desk

Index ES-zugzwang · zugzwang · Spanish

zugzwang · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "Z" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for zugzwang
PropertyValue
Headwordzugzwang
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈsuɣ̞swãŋ]
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “zugzwang” en español

zugzwangno entra en el top 100.000 del español: zona de términos técnicos, arcaicos o escasos, el terreno típico de la doble comprobación.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

zugzwang is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈsuɣ̞swãŋ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Posición en donde el jugador que está obligado a mover, debido a ello, deberá empeorar su posición, de modo tal que sería mejor que pasara su turno lo cual está prohibido.".

zugzwang doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable Spanish rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct Spanish form is zugzwang, spelled Z-U-G-Z-W-A-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Posición en donde el jugador que está obligado a mover, debido a ello, deberá empeorar su posición, de modo tal que sería mejor que pasara su turno lo cual está prohibido.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). 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 [ˈsuɣ̞swãŋ].
What does "zugzwang" mean?
As a noun, "zugzwang" means: Posición en donde el jugador que está obligado a mover, debido a ello, deberá empeorar su posición, de modo tal que sería mejor que pasara su turno lo cual está prohibido.
How do you pronounce "zugzwang"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zugzwang" is [ˈsuɣ̞swãŋ]. 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 Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list