SchinkenvsschwingenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schinken is a noun, schwingen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schinken” is a noun and “schwingen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,744
“Schinken” frequency rank
#11,517
“schwingen” frequency rank
23261
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schinken schwingen
Definition Fleisch der Schenkel von Schlachtvieh meist im engeren Sinne von Schweinen sich hin und her oder kreisend bewegen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schinken and schwingen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Schinken
9 ch
schwingen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schinken is [ˈʃɪŋkn̩] while schwingen is [ˈʃvɪŋən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schinken is recorded at frequency rank #11,744, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪŋkn̩]. schwingen is at rank #11,517, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɪŋən].

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 23261, this pair ranks #1,863,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schinken vs schwingen

Shared letters: cehins. Private to "Schinken": k. Private to "schwingen": gw.

"Schinken" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "schwingen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schinkencshinken · scchinken · schhinken · schiknen · schinekn · schinkenn · schinkken · schinkne
  • schwingencshwingen · scchwingen · schhwingen · schiwngen · schwignen · schwinegn · schwingenn · schwinggen

Frequency comparison

Schinken#11,744
schwingen#11,517

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schinken" and "schwingen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schinken" is a noun and "schwingen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schinken" or "schwingen"?
"schwingen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,517 in our German list, against #11,744 for "Schinken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schinken vs schwingen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schinken”; for a verb, it's “schwingen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schinken” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list