schwach vs schwachem, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“schwach” and “schwachem” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,073
“schwach” frequency rank: #44,903
“schwachem” frequency rank: 47976
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	schwach	schwachem
Definition	ohne Kraft	Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schwach

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

schwach

9 ch

schwachem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schwach ([ʃvax]) and schwachem ([ˈʃvaxm̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “schwach” sits inside “schwachem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47976, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schwach is recorded at frequency rank #3,073, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃvax]. schwachem is at rank #44,903, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃvaxm̩].

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 47976, this pair ranks #1,265,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schwach vs schwachem

Shared letters: achsw. Private to "schwach": -. Private to "schwachem": em.

"schwach" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC · "schwachem" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

schwach ← cshwach · scchwach · schawch · schhwach · schwacch · schwachh · schwahc · schwcah
schwachem ← cshwachem · scchwachem · schawchem · schhwachem · schwacchem · schwacehm · schwachemm · schwachhem

Frequency comparison

schwach#3,073

schwachem#44,903

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schwach" and "schwachem" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ʃvax] versus [ˈʃvaxm̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "schwach" or "schwachem"?

"schwach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,073 in our German list, against #44,903 for "schwachem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering schwach vs schwachem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schwach” entry
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