Which to use
“Schwalben” is a noun and “schwelgen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,002
- “Schwalben” frequency rank
- #34,355
- “schwelgen” frequency rank
- 73357
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schwalben | schwelgen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schwalbe | genießerisch, üppig speisen, trinken; luxuriös leben |
Where the eye mixes Schwalben and schwelgen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Schwalben with schwelgen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schwalben is [ˈʃvalbn̩] while schwelgen is [ˈʃvɛlɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73357, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schwalben is recorded at frequency rank #39,002, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvalbn̩]. schwelgen is at rank #34,355, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɛlɡn̩].
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 73357, this pair ranks #362,568 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Schwalben vs schwelgen
Shared letters: cehlnsw. Private to "Schwalben": ab. Private to "schwelgen": g.
"Schwalben" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "schwelgen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Schwalben" and "schwelgen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Schwalben" or "schwelgen" show up more?
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 "Schwalben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwelgen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #362,568 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schwalben" and "schwelgen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schellen vs schwelgen". 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 #362,568 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.