Which to use
“schweben” and “schwenken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,403
- “schweben” frequency rank
- #30,756
- “schwenken” frequency rank
- 45159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schweben | schwenken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einem Medium treiben | hin und her bewegen, wedeln |
Where the eye mixes schweben and schwenken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schweben runs 8 letters (CCCCVCVC) against schwenken's 9 (CCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: schweben vs schwenken
A purely visual mix-up. schweben ([ˈʃveːbn̩]) and schwenken ([ˈʃvɛŋkn̩]) 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 45159, 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]. schwenken is at rank #30,756, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɛŋkn̩].
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 45159, this pair ranks #1,362,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schweben vs schwenken
Shared letters: cehnsw. Private to "schweben": b. Private to "schwenken": k.
"schweben" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC · "schwenken" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schweben" and "schwenken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schweben" or "schwenken"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schweben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwenken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,362,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schweben" and "schwenken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwanke vs schwenken". 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 #1,362,472 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.