Which to use
“Schwäche” is a noun and “schwächt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,003
- “Schwäche” frequency rank
- #25,758
- “schwächt” frequency rank
- 31761
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schwäche | schwächt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mangelnde körperliche oder geistige Kraft | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schwächen |
Where the eye mixes Schwäche and schwächt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Schwäche (CCCCVCCV) and schwächt (CCCCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Schwäche with schwächt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schwäche is [ˈʃvɛçə] while schwächt is [ʃvɛçt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “Schwäche” becomes t in “schwächt”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schwäche is recorded at frequency rank #6,003, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛçə]. 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 31761, this pair ranks #1,721,612 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schwäche vs schwächt
Shared letters: chswä. Private to "Schwäche": e. Private to "schwächt": t.
"Schwäche" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV · "schwächt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Schwäche" and "schwächt" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Schwäche" or "schwächt" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwäche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwächt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,721,612 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schwäche" and "schwächt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwachem vs schwächt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,721,612 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.