Which to use
“schwankt” and “schwankte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,277
- “schwankt” frequency rank
- #44,904
- “schwankte” frequency rank
- 61181
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwankt | schwankte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schwanken | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schwanken |
Where the eye mixes schwankt and schwankte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. schwankt runs 8 letters (CCCCVCCC) against schwankte's 9 (CCCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between schwankt and schwankte
A purely visual mix-up. schwankt ([ʃvaŋkt]) and schwankte ([ˈʃvaŋktə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “schwankt” sits inside “schwankte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwankt is recorded at frequency rank #16,277, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃvaŋkt]. 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 61181, this pair ranks #759,317 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schwankt vs schwankte
Shared letters: achknstw. Private to "schwankt": -. Private to "schwankte": e.
"schwankt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC · "schwankte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schwankt" and "schwankte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schwankt" vs "schwankte" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schwankt" 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 #759,317 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwankt" and "schwankte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwanke vs schwankte". 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 #759,317 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.