Which to use
“schweben” and “schweigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,403
- “schweben” frequency rank
- #3,074
- “schweigen” frequency rank
- 17477
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schweben | schweigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einem Medium treiben | still sein oder nicht reden |
Where the eye mixes schweben and schweigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schweben and schweigen
A purely visual mix-up. schweben ([ˈʃveːbn̩]) and schweigen ([ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩]) 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 17477, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schweben is recorded at frequency rank #14,403, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃveːbn̩]. schweigen is at rank #3,074, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩].
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 17477, this pair ranks #1,927,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schweben vs schweigen
Shared letters: cehnsw. Private to "schweben": b. Private to "schweigen": gi.
"schweben" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC · "schweigen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schweben" and "schweigen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "schweben" vs "schweigen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schweben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schweigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,927,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schweben" and "schweigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schweben vs schwebende". 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 #1,927,038 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.