schwebevsSchwelleConfusable pair

Quick tell: schwebe is a verb, Schwelle is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schwebe” is a verb and “Schwelle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,281
“schwebe” frequency rank
#13,236
“Schwelle” frequency rank
46517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwebe Schwelle
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schweben unterer Querbalken eines Türrahmens, über den man zum Eintreten geht

Where the eye mixes schwebe and Schwelle

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

7 ch
schwebe
8 ch
Schwelle

Visual trap between schwebe and Schwelle

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schwebe is [ˈʃveːbə] while Schwelle is [ˈʃvɛlə]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46517, 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]. Schwelle is at rank #13,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛlə].

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 46517, this pair ranks #1,316,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schwebe vs Schwelle

Shared letters: cehsw. Private to "schwebe": b. Private to "Schwelle": l.

"schwebe" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV  ·  "Schwelle" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwebecshwebe · scchwebe · schewbe · schhwebe · schwbee · schwebbe · schweeb · schwwebe
  • Schwellecshwelle · scchwelle · schewlle · schhwelle · schwele · schwelel · schwlele · schwwelle

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schwebe" for "Schwelle" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schwebe" is a verb and "Schwelle" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schwebe" or "Schwelle"?
"Schwelle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,236 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.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "schwebe" and "Schwelle" 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 "Schwelle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,316,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schwebe" and "Schwelle" 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 #1,316,325 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