schwebevsschwebtConfusable pair

Which to use

“schwebe” and “schwebt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,281
“schwebe” frequency rank
#13,014
“schwebt” frequency rank
46295
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwebe schwebt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schweben 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schweben

Where the eye mixes schwebe and schwebt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
schwebe
7 ch
schwebt

Visual trap between schwebe and schwebt

A purely visual mix-up. schwebe ([ˈʃveːbə]) and schwebt ([ʃveːpt]) 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 a single letter - e in “schwebe” becomes t in “schwebt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46295, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schwebe is recorded at frequency rank #33,281, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃveːbə]. schwebt is at rank #13,014, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃveːpt].

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 46295, this pair ranks #1,324,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schwebe vs schwebt

Shared letters: bcehsw. Private to "schwebe": -. Private to "schwebt": t.

"schwebe" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV  ·  "schwebt" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwebecshwebe · scchwebe · schewbe · schhwebe · schwbee · schwebbe · schweeb · schwwebe
  • schwebtcshwebt · scchwebt · schewbt · schhwebt · schwbet · schwebbt · schwebtt · schwetb

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schwebe" and "schwebt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃveːbə] versus [ʃveːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schwebe" vs "schwebt" - which ranks higher?
"schwebt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,014 in our German list, against #33,281 for "schwebe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "schwebe" and "schwebt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schwebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schwebt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,324,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schwebe" and "schwebt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiere vs schwebe". 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 #1,324,052 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list