SchergenvsschwerenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schergen is a noun, schweren is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schergen” is a noun and “schweren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,388
“Schergen” frequency rank
#2,264
“schweren” frequency rank
40652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schergen schweren
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Scherge Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schwer

Where the eye mixes Schergen and schweren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Schergen (CCCVCCVC) and schweren (CCCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
Schergen
8 ch
schweren

Why the eye confuses Schergen with schweren

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schergen is [ˈʃɛʁɡn̩] while schweren is [ˈʃveːʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schergen is recorded at frequency rank #38,388, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁɡn̩]. schweren is at rank #2,264, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːʁən].

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 40652, this pair ranks #1,502,276 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schergen vs schweren

Shared letters: cehnrs. Private to "Schergen": g. Private to "schweren": w.

"Schergen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "schweren" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schergen ← cshergen · scchergen · scehrgen · schegren · scheregn · schergenn · scherggen · schergne
  • schweren ← cshweren · scchweren · schewren · schhweren · schweern · schwerenn · schwerne · schwerren

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schergen" and "schweren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schergen" is a noun and "schweren" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Schergen" vs "schweren" - which ranks higher?
"schweren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,264 in our German list, against #38,388 for "Schergen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Schergen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schweren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,502,276 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schergen" and "schweren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schellen vs Schergen". 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 #1,502,276 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