SchwedevsSchwelleWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Schwede” and “Schwelle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#17,124
“Schwede” frequency rank
#13,236
“Schwelle” frequency rank
30360
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schwede Schwelle
Definition Bürger von Schweden unterer Querbalken eines Türrahmens, über den man zum Eintreten geht

Where the eye mixes Schwede and Schwelle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Schwede
8 ch
Schwelle

Look-alike desk: Schwede vs Schwelle

A purely visual mix-up. Schwede ([ˈʃveːdə]) and Schwelle ([ˈʃvɛlə]) 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 30360, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schwede is recorded at frequency rank #17,124, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃveːdə]. Schwelle is at rank #13,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛlə].

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 30360, this pair ranks #1,749,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schwede vs Schwelle

Shared letters: cehsw. Private to "Schwede": d. Private to "Schwelle": l.

"Schwede" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV  ·  "Schwelle" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schwedecshwede · scchwede · schewde · schhwede · schwdee · schwedde · schweed · schwwede
  • Schwellecshwelle · scchwelle · schewlle · schhwelle · schwele · schwelel · schwlele · schwwelle

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schwede" and "Schwelle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃveːdə] versus [ˈʃvɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schwede" or "Schwelle"?
"Schwelle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,236 in our German list, against #17,124 for "Schwede". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schwede" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schwelle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,749,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schwede" and "Schwelle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiere vs Schwede". 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 #1,749,431 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list