schwachvsSchwazWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schwach is a adjective, Schwaz is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#3,073
“schwach” frequency rank
#43,479
“Schwaz” frequency rank
46552
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwach Schwaz
Definition ohne Kraft österreichische Stadt in Tirol

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schwach and Schwaz apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
schwach
6 ch
Schwaz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schwach is [ʃvax] while Schwaz is [ʃvaːt͡s]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46552, 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]. Schwaz is at rank #43,479, tagged as aname, pronounced [ʃvaːt͡s].

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 46552, this pair ranks #1,315,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schwach vs Schwaz

Shared letters: achsw. Private to "schwach": -. Private to "Schwaz": z.

"schwach" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC  ·  "Schwaz" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwachcshwach · scchwach · schawch · schhwach · schwacch · schwachh · schwahc · schwcah
  • Schwazcshwaz · scchwaz · schawz · schhwaz · schwazz · schwwaz · schwza · scwhaz

Frequency comparison

schwach#3,073
Schwaz#43,479

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schwach" and "Schwaz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schwach" is an adjective and "Schwaz" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schwach" or "Schwaz"?
"schwach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,073 in our German list, against #43,479 for "Schwaz". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering schwach vs Schwaz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “schwach”; for a name, it's “Schwaz”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list