Which to use
“schwebt” and “schwebte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,014
- “schwebt” frequency rank
- #31,263
- “schwebte” frequency rank
- 44277
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwebt | schwebte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schweben | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schweben |
Where the eye mixes schwebt and schwebte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schwebt vs schwebte
A purely visual mix-up. schwebt ([ʃveːpt]) and schwebte ([ˈʃveːptə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “schwebt” sits inside “schwebte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44277, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwebt is recorded at frequency rank #13,014, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃveːpt]. schwebte is at rank #31,263, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃveːptə].
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 44277, this pair ranks #1,391,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schwebt vs schwebte
Shared letters: bcehstw. Private to "schwebt": -. Private to "schwebte": -.
"schwebt" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC · "schwebte" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schwebt" and "schwebte" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "schwebt" or "schwebte" show up more?
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 "schwebt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwebte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,391,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwebt" and "schwebte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwebte vs schweige". 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 #1,391,379 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.