Which to use
“schweben” and “schwören” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,403
- “schweben” frequency rank
- #17,408
- “schwören” frequency rank
- 31811
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schweben | schwören |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einem Medium treiben | einen Schwur oder Eid ablegen, abgeben, leisten |
Where the eye mixes schweben and schwören
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schweben with schwören
A purely visual mix-up. schweben ([ˈʃveːbn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31811, 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]. 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 31811, this pair ranks #1,720,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schweben vs schwören
Shared letters: cehnsw. Private to "schweben": b. Private to "schwören": rö.
"schweben" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC · "schwören" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schweben ← cshweben · scchweben · schewben · schhweben · schwbeen · schwebben · schwebenn · schwebne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schweben" for "schwören" ever safe?
Which is more common, "schweben" or "schwören"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "schweben" and "schwören" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schweben" 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 #1,720,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schweben" and "schwören" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwirren vs schwören". 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 #1,720,516 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.