schwach vs schwächt, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#3,073
“schwach” frequency rank: #25,758
“schwächt” frequency rank: 28831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	schwach	schwächt
Definition	ohne Kraft	2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schwächen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

schwach

8 ch

schwächt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schwach is [ʃvax] while schwächt is [ʃvɛçt]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28831, 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]. schwächt is at rank #25,758, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃvɛçt].

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 28831, this pair ranks #1,777,802 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schwach vs schwächt

Shared letters: chsw. Private to "schwach": a. Private to "schwächt": tä.

"schwach" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC · "schwächt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

schwach ← cshwach · scchwach · schawch · schhwach · schwacch · schwachh · schwahc · schwcah

Frequency comparison

schwach#3,073

schwächt#25,758

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schwach" is an adjective and "schwächt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

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

"schwach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,073 in our German list, against #25,758 for "schwächt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schwach vs schwächt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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