Which to use
“schwebte” is a verb and “schwerste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,263
- “schwebte” frequency rank
- #15,994
- “schwerste” frequency rank
- 47257
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwebte | schwerste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schweben | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs schwer |
Where the eye mixes schwebte and schwerste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schwebte with schwerste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schwebte is [ˈʃveːptə] while schwerste is [ˈʃveːɐ̯stə]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwebte is recorded at frequency rank #31,263, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃveːptə]. schwerste is at rank #15,994, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːɐ̯stə].
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 47257, this pair ranks #1,290,712 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schwebte vs schwerste
Shared letters: cehstw. Private to "schwebte": b. Private to "schwerste": r.
"schwebte" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV · "schwerste" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schwebte" for "schwerste" ever safe?
Which is more common, "schwebte" or "schwerste"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schwebte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwerste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,290,712 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwebte" and "schwerste" 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 #1,290,712 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.