Which to use
“scheitern” is a verb and “Schwestern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,229
- “scheitern” frequency rank
- #4,463
- “Schwestern” frequency rank
- 8692
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scheitern | Schwestern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas nicht erreichen, das man erreichen will | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schwester |
Where the eye mixes scheitern and Schwestern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: scheitern vs Schwestern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: scheitern is [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐn] while Schwestern is [ˈʃvɛstɐn]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8692, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scheitern is recorded at frequency rank #4,229, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐn]. Schwestern is at rank #4,463, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛstɐn].
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 8692, this pair ranks #1,983,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scheitern vs Schwestern
Shared letters: cehnrst. Private to "scheitern": i. Private to "Schwestern": w.
"scheitern" · 9 letters · shape CCCVVCVCC · "Schwestern" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- scheitern ← csheitern · sccheitern · scehitern · scheietrn · scheitenr · scheiternn · scheiterrn · scheitren
- Schwestern ← cshwestern · scchwestern · schewstern · schhwestern · schwesetrn · schwesstern · schwestenr · schwesternn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scheitern" for "Schwestern" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "scheitern" or "Schwestern" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "scheitern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwestern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,983,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scheitern" and "Schwestern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schweizern vs Schwestern". 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 #1,983,254 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.