schmorenvsschwerenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schmoren is a verb, schweren is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schmoren” is a verb and “schweren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,391
“schmoren” frequency rank
#2,264
“schweren” frequency rank
40655
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schmoren schweren
Definition Fleisch anbraten und dann in einem Topf langsam garen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schwer

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schmoren and schweren apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
schmoren
8 ch
schweren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schmoren is [ˈʃmoːʁən] while schweren is [ˈʃveːʁən]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schmoren is recorded at frequency rank #38,391, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmoːʁən]. schweren is at rank #2,264, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːʁən].

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 40655, this pair ranks #1,502,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schmoren vs schweren

Shared letters: cehnrs. Private to "schmoren": mo. Private to "schweren": w.

"schmoren" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC  ·  "schweren" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schmorencshmoren · scchmoren · schhmoren · schmmoren · schmoern · schmorenn · schmorne · schmorren
  • schwerencshweren · scchweren · schewren · schhweren · schweern · schwerenn · schwerne · schwerren

Frequency comparison

schmoren#38,391
schweren#2,264

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schmoren" and "schweren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schmoren" is a verb and "schweren" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schmoren" or "schweren"?
"schweren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,264 in our German list, against #38,391 for "schmoren". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering schmoren vs schweren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schmoren”; for an adjective, it's “schweren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schmoren” 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