Which to use
“schier” and “schwer” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,199
- “schier” frequency rank
- #446
- “schwer” frequency rank
- 15645
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schier | schwer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | rein, von gleichmäßiger Beschaffenheit, ohne Beimengung | ein hohes Gewicht habend |
Where the eye mixes schier and schwer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schier with schwer
A purely visual mix-up. schier ([ʃiːɐ̯]) and schwer ([ʃveːɐ̯]) 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 “schier” becomes w in “schwer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15645, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schier is recorded at frequency rank #15,199, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃiːɐ̯]. schwer is at rank #446, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃveːɐ̯].
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 15645, this pair ranks #1,942,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schier vs schwer
Shared letters: cehrs. Private to "schier": i. Private to "schwer": w.
"schier" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVC · "schwer" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schier" and "schwer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schier" vs "schwer" - 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 "schier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,942,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schier" and "schwer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schier vs Schmiere". 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 #1,942,222 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.