Which to use
“schräg” is an adjective and “Schwan” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,939
- “schräg” frequency rank
- #16,543
- “Schwan” frequency rank
- 25482
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schräg | Schwan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von einer (gedachten) geraden, horizontalen oder vertikalen Linie abweichend (und einen spitzen, stumpfen aber niemals rechten Winkel bildend) | Wasservogel mit langem Hals (Gattungen Coscoroba und Cygnus) aus der Familie der Entenvögel (Anatidae) |
Where the eye mixes schräg and Schwan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schräg is [ʃʁɛːk] while Schwan is [ʃvaːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schräg is recorded at frequency rank #8,939, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃʁɛːk]. Schwan is at rank #16,543, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃvaːn].
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 25482, this pair ranks #1,832,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schräg vs Schwan
Shared letters: chs. Private to "schräg": grä. Private to "Schwan": anw.
"schräg" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC · "Schwan" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Schwan ← cshwan · scchwan · schawn · schhwan · schwann · schwna · schwwan · scwhan
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schräg" and "Schwan" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "schräg" or "Schwan"?
What to do next
You've compared "schräg" and "Schwan". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "schräg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,832,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schräg" and "Schwan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schwan vs schwanke". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.