ScharvsschworWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schar is a noun, schwor is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schar” is a noun and “schwor” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,759
“Schar” frequency rank
#40,200
“schwor” frequency rank
61959
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schar schwor
Definition Gruppe von Personen oder Tieren; auch (An-)Sammlung von Dingen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schwören

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schar and schwor apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Schar
6 ch
schwor

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schar is [ʃaːɐ̯] while schwor is [ʃvoːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61959, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schar is recorded at frequency rank #21,759, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃaːɐ̯]. schwor is at rank #40,200, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃvoːɐ̯].

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 61959, this pair ranks #730,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schar vs schwor

Shared letters: chrs. Private to "Schar": a. Private to "schwor": ow.

"Schar" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC  ·  "schwor" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Scharcshar · scahr · scchar · scharr · schhar · schra · shcar · sschar
  • schworcshwor · scchwor · schhwor · schowr · schworr · schwro · schwwor · scwhor

Frequency comparison

Schar#21,759
schwor#40,200

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schar" and "schwor" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schar" is a noun and "schwor" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schar" or "schwor"?
"Schar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,759 in our German list, against #40,200 for "schwor". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schar vs schwor

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schar”; for a verb, it's “schwor”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list