schlugvsSchwurWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,786
“schlug” frequency rank
#29,776
“Schwur” frequency rank
32562
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlug Schwur
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schlagen verbindliche Festlegung auf etwas

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schlug and Schwur apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
schlug
6 ch
Schwur

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlug is [ʃluːk] while Schwur is [ʃvuːɐ̯]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlug is recorded at frequency rank #2,786, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃluːk]. Schwur is at rank #29,776, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃvuːɐ̯].

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 32562, this pair ranks #1,705,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schlug vs Schwur

Shared letters: chsu. Private to "schlug": gl. Private to "Schwur": rw.

"schlug" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC  ·  "Schwur" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlugcshlug · scchlug · schhlug · schlgu · schllug · schlugg · schulg · sclhug
  • Schwurcshwur · scchwur · schhwur · schuwr · schwru · schwurr · schwwur · scwhur

Frequency comparison

schlug#2,786
Schwur#29,776

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlug" and "Schwur" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schlug" is a verb and "Schwur" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schlug" or "Schwur"?
"schlug" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,786 in our German list, against #29,776 for "Schwur". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering schlug vs Schwur

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schlug”; for a noun, it's “Schwur”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schlug” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list