Which to use
“schwärmen” and “schwören” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,417
- “schwärmen” frequency rank
- #17,408
- “schwören” frequency rank
- 38825
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwärmen | schwören |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich als Menge von gleichartigen Lebewesen ungeordnet oder geordnet aktiv bewegen | einen Schwur oder Eid ablegen, abgeben, leisten |
Where the eye mixes schwärmen and schwören
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schwärmen runs 9 letters (CCCCVCCVC) against schwören's 8 (CCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between schwärmen and schwören
A purely visual mix-up. schwärmen ([ˈʃvɛʁmən]) and schwören ([ˈʃvøːʁən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwärmen is recorded at frequency rank #21,417, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɛʁmən]. schwören is at rank #17,408, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvøːʁən].
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 38825, this pair ranks #1,553,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schwärmen vs schwören
Shared letters: cehnrsw. Private to "schwärmen": mä. Private to "schwören": ö.
"schwärmen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "schwören" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schwärmen" and "schwören" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schwärmen" or "schwören" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "schwärmen" and "schwören" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schwärmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwören" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,553,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwärmen" and "schwören" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwärmen vs schwirren". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,553,623 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.