Schranke vs schwanken, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#19,031
“Schranke” frequency rank: #18,055
“schwanken” frequency rank: 37086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Schranke	schwanken
Definition	Vorrichtung zur Absperrung	sich nicht entscheiden können; sich mal so, mal so äußern oder verhalten

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch

Schranke

9 ch

schwanken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schranke is [ˈʃʁaŋkə] while schwanken is [ˈʃvaŋkn̩]. 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 37086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schranke is recorded at frequency rank #19,031, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʁaŋkə]. schwanken is at rank #18,055, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaŋkn̩].

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 37086, this pair ranks #1,599,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schranke vs schwanken

Shared letters: acehkns. Private to "Schranke": r. Private to "schwanken": w.

"Schranke" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV · "schwanken" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Schranke ← cshranke · scchranke · scharnke · schhranke · schrakne · schranek · schrankke · schrannke
schwanken ← cshwanken · scchwanken · schawnken · schhwanken · schwaknen · schwanekn · schwankenn · schwankken

Frequency comparison

Schranke#19,031

schwanken#18,055

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schranke" and "schwanken" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schranke" is a noun and "schwanken" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Schranke" or "schwanken"?

"schwanken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,055 in our German list, against #19,031 for "Schranke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schranke vs schwanken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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