Which to use
“schreien” and “schweigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,831
- “schreien” frequency rank
- #3,074
- “schweigen” frequency rank
- 7905
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schreien | schweigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen plötzlichen, lauten Ruf ausstoßen (zum Beispiel Schmerzschrei) oder auch längere Zeit unartikulierte, laute Geräusche von sich geben | still sein oder nicht reden |
Where the eye mixes schreien and schweigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schreien and schweigen
A purely visual mix-up. schreien ([ˈʃʁaɪ̯ən]) and schweigen ([ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7905, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schreien is recorded at frequency rank #4,831, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʁaɪ̯ən]. schweigen is at rank #3,074, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩].
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 7905, this pair ranks #1,986,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schreien vs schweigen
Shared letters: cehins. Private to "schreien": r. Private to "schweigen": gw.
"schreien" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVVC · "schweigen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schreien" and "schweigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schreien" or "schweigen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schreien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schweigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,986,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schreien" and "schweigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schreien vs Schreier". 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 #1,986,391 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.