geschwollenvsgeschworenTell them apart

Which to use

“geschwollen” and “geschworen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,080
“geschwollen” frequency rank
#24,359
“geschworen” frequency rank
57439
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geschwollen geschworen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs schwellen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs schwören

Where the eye mixes geschwollen and geschworen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. geschwollen runs 11 letters (CVCCCCVCCVC) against geschworen's 10 (CVCCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
geschwollen
10 ch
geschworen

Why the eye confuses geschwollen with geschworen

A purely visual mix-up. geschwollen ([ɡəˈʃvɔlən]) and geschworen ([ɡəˈʃvoːʁən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geschwollen is recorded at frequency rank #33,080, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃvɔlən]. geschworen is at rank #24,359, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃvoːʁən].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 57439, this pair ranks #901,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of geschwollen vs geschworen

Shared letters: ceghnosw. Private to "geschwollen": l. Private to "geschworen": r.

"geschwollen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "geschworen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geschwollenegschwollen · gecshwollen · gescchwollen · geschhwollen · geschowllen · geschwlolen · geschwoleln · geschwolen
  • geschworenegschworen · gecshworen · gescchworen · geschhworen · geschowren · geschwoern · geschworenn · geschworne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geschwollen" and "geschworen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʃvɔlən] versus [ɡəˈʃvoːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "geschwollen" vs "geschworen" - which ranks higher?
"geschworen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,359 in our German list, against #33,080 for "geschwollen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "geschwollen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "geschworen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #901,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geschwollen" and "geschworen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geschwollen vs geschwommen". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #901,306 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list