Which to use
“schwanke” is an adjective and “schwankte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,464
- “schwanke” frequency rank
- #44,904
- “schwankte” frequency rank
- 93368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwanke | schwankte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schwank | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schwanken |
Where the eye mixes schwanke and schwankte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. schwanke runs 8 letters (CCCCVCCV) against schwankte's 9 (CCCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses schwanke with schwankte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schwanke is [ˈʃvaŋkə] while schwankte is [ˈʃvaŋktə]. 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 93368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwanke is recorded at frequency rank #48,464, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃvaŋkə]. schwankte is at rank #44,904, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaŋktə].
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 93368, this pair ranks #23,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of schwanke vs schwankte
Shared letters: acehknsw. Private to "schwanke": -. Private to "schwankte": t.
"schwanke" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV · "schwankte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schwanke" and "schwankte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "schwanke" vs "schwankte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schwanke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwankte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwanke" and "schwankte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwanke vs schwinge". 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 #23,264 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.