Which to use
“schieben” and “schweben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,529
- “schieben” frequency rank
- #14,403
- “schweben” frequency rank
- 19932
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schieben | schweben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Gegenstand durch mechanischen Druck bewegen | in einem Medium treiben |
Where the eye mixes schieben and schweben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schieben vs schweben
A purely visual mix-up. schieben ([ˈʃiːbn̩]) and schweben ([ˈʃveːbn̩]) 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 a single letter - i in “schieben” becomes w in “schweben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schieben is recorded at frequency rank #5,529, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃiːbn̩]. schweben is at rank #14,403, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃveːbn̩].
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 19932, this pair ranks #1,903,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schieben vs schweben
Shared letters: bcehns. Private to "schieben": i. Private to "schweben": w.
"schieben" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC · "schweben" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schieben" for "schweben" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schieben" vs "schweben" - which ranks higher?
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 "schieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schweben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,903,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schieben" and "schweben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schweben vs schwebende". 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 #1,903,086 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.