Which to use
“schlimmes” is an adjective and “schwimmen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,801
- “schlimmes” frequency rank
- #3,399
- “schwimmen” frequency rank
- 13200
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlimmes | schwimmen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schlimm | sich im Wasser aus eigener Kraft (durch Bewegung der Extremitäten) fortbewegen |
Where the eye mixes schlimmes and schwimmen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schlimmes and schwimmen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: schlimmes vs schwimmen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlimmes is [ˈʃlɪməs] while schwimmen is [ˈʃvɪmən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schlimmes is recorded at frequency rank #9,801, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪməs]. schwimmen is at rank #3,399, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɪmən].
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 13200, this pair ranks #1,959,475 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schlimmes vs schwimmen
Shared letters: cehims. Private to "schlimmes": l. Private to "schwimmen": nw.
"schlimmes" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "schwimmen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schlimmes" and "schwimmen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schlimmes" vs "schwimmen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "schlimmes" and "schwimmen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schlimmes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwimmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,959,475 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlimmes" and "schwimmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlemmer vs schlimmes". 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 #1,959,475 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.