SchachvsSchwächeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,526
“Schach” frequency rank
#6,003
“Schwäche” frequency rank
13529
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schach Schwäche
Definition strategisches Brettspiel für zwei Spieler, Kurzwort für Schachspiel mangelnde körperliche oder geistige Kraft

Where the eye mixes Schach and Schwäche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schach runs 6 letters (CCCVCC) against Schwäche's 8 (CCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Schach
8 ch
Schwäche

Visual trap between Schach and Schwäche

A purely visual mix-up. Schach ([ʃax]) and Schwäche ([ˈʃvɛçə]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schach is recorded at frequency rank #7,526, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃax]. Schwäche is at rank #6,003, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛçə].

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 13529, this pair ranks #1,957,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schach vs Schwäche

Shared letters: chs. Private to "Schach": a. Private to "Schwäche": ewä.

"Schach" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Schwäche" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schach ← cshach · scahch · scchach · schacch · schachh · schahc · schcah · schhach

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schach" and "Schwäche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃax] versus [ˈʃvɛçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schach" or "Schwäche"?
"Schwäche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,003 in our German list, against #7,526 for "Schach". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schwäche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,957,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schach" and "Schwäche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schach vs Scotch". 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 #1,957,411 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