zwingen

\ˈt͡svɪŋən\

/\ˈt͡svɪŋən\/ verb

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Forcer, obliger.

Corpus desk

Index FR-zwingen · zwingen · French

zwingen · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 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 zwingen
PropertyValue
Headwordzwingen
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈt͡svɪŋən\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « zwingen » en français

zwingenreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

zwingen is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \ˈt͡svɪŋən\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for zwingen, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is zwingen, spelled Z-W-I-N-G-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Forcer, obliger.
  2. 2
    Astreindre, se forcer.
  3. 3
    sich gezwungen sehen: Être forcé, du point de vue subjectif.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Die Wachen zwangen die Erschöpften, weiterzugehen.
  2. Die Regierung muss etwas unternehmen, damit die explodierenden Energiepreise Geringverdiener:innen und auch weite Teile der Mittelschicht nicht ruinieren oder Betriebe zur Geschäftsaufgabe zwingen.

Synonyms

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 "zwingen"?
"zwingen" is spelled Z-W-I-N-G-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈt͡svɪŋən\.
What does "zwingen" mean?
As a verb, "zwingen" means: Forcer, obliger.
How do you pronounce "zwingen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zwingen" is \ˈt͡svɪŋən\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "zwingen" come from?
"zwingen" is a French 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list