Method for operating a combustion engine having self-ignition, having an engine block having at least one cylinder (306, 402) and a piston assigned thereto, an injection installation having a plurality of holes for the injection of fuel into the cylinder (306, 402), and - an inlet installation for charge air, having at least one inlet duct and an inlet valve assigned thereto, and - an outlet installation for exhaust gas, having at least one outlet duct and an assigned outlet valve and an adjoining exhaust gas system having a particle filter, - wherein the cylinder (306 or 402) has a cylinder head and the piston has a piston head, and the cylinder head and the piston head form internal faces of a combustion chamber, and - the inlet duct is configured as a swirl duct having an assigned swirl duct valve, wherein the inlet flow into the combustion chamber is imparted a swirl, - wherein the injector for at least one selected cylinder (306, 402) for a hole count L > 7 is conceived for a flow rate DDF of fuel of DDF = (-230 + 70*L) * (1 +/- 0.20) ml within 30 sec at an injection pressure of 100 bar, characterized in that - the inlet flow in the case of at least a valve stroke Vh between 2 mm and Vhh = 0.5*Vhm has an increase in swirl by way of a valve-stroke-dependent Tippelmann swirl coefficient D having a value > 0.3, wherein Vhm indicates the maximum valve stroke or the value Vhm = 8 mm, - the inlet flow in a valve stroke range between Vh = 2 mm and Vhh = 0.5*Vhm has an increase in swirl by way of a standardized integral Tippelmann swirl coefficient Di having a value > 0.40/mm, or - the inlet flow in a valve stroke range between Vh = 2 mm and Vhh = 0.5*Vhm has an increase in swirl in such a manner that when measuring the valve-stroke-dependent Tippelmann swirl coefficient D at intervals of 0.5 mm the mean Tippelmann swirl coefficient Dm for at least one valve stroke interval ΔV = 1 mm has a value > 0.4. - an inlet installation for charge air, having at least one inlet duct and an inlet valve assigned thereto, and - an outlet installation for exhaust gas, having at least one outlet duct and an assigned outlet valve and an adjoining exhaust gas system having a particle filter, - wherein the cylinder (306 or 402) has a cylinder head and the piston has a piston head, and the cylinder head and the piston head form internal faces of a combustion chamber, and - the inlet duct is configured as a swirl duct having an assigned swirl duct valve, wherein the inlet flow into the combustion chamber is imparted a swirl, - wherein the injector for at least one selected cylinder (306, 402) for a hole count L > 7 is conceived for a flow rate DDF of fuel of DDF = (-230 + 70*L) * (1 +/- 0.20) ml within 30 sec at an injection pressure of 100 bar, characterized in that - the inlet flow in the case of at least a valve stroke Vh between 2 mm and Vhh = 0.5*Vhm has an increase in swirl by way of a valve-stroke-dependent Tippelmann swirl coefficient D having a value > 0.3, wherein Vhm indicates the maximum valve stroke or the value Vhm = 8 mm, - the inlet flow in a valve stroke range between Vh = 2 mm and Vhh = 0.5*Vhm has an increase in swirl by way of a standardized integral Tippelmann swirl coefficient Di having a value > 0.40/mm, or - the inlet flow in a valve stroke range between Vh = 2 mm and Vhh = 0.5*Vhm has an increase in swirl in such a manner that when measuring the valve-stroke-dependent Tippelmann swirl coefficient D at intervals of 0.5 mm the mean Tippelmann swirl coefficient Dm for at least one valve stroke interval ΔV = 1 mm has a value > 0.4.