scheintvsschwingtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#496
“scheint” frequency rank
#15,206
“schwingt” frequency rank
15702
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature scheint schwingt
Definition 2. Person Plural Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs scheinen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schwingen

Where the eye mixes scheint and schwingt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
scheint
8 ch
schwingt

Look-alike desk: scheint vs schwingt

A purely visual mix-up. scheint ([ʃaɪ̯nt]) and schwingt ([ʃvɪŋt]) 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 15702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

scheint is recorded at frequency rank #496, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃaɪ̯nt]. schwingt is at rank #15,206, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃvɪŋt].

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 15702, this pair ranks #1,941,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of scheint vs schwingt

Shared letters: chinst. Private to "scheint": e. Private to "schwingt": gw.

"scheint" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCC  ·  "schwingt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • scheintcsheint · sccheint · scehint · scheinnt · scheintt · scheitn · schenit · schheint
  • schwingtcshwingt · scchwingt · schhwingt · schiwngt · schwignt · schwinggt · schwingtt · schwinngt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "scheint" for "schwingt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃaɪ̯nt] versus [ʃvɪŋt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "scheint" vs "schwingt" - which ranks higher?
"scheint" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #496 in our German list, against #15,206 for "schwingt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "scheint" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schwingt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,941,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "scheint" and "schwingt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwinge vs schwingt". 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 #1,941,810 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