Which to use
“schweifen” and “schweige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,259
- “schweifen” frequency rank
- #39,619
- “schweige” frequency rank
- 71878
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schweifen | schweige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich ohne festes Ziel in einem Bereich bewegen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schweigen |
Where the eye mixes schweifen and schweige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schweifen runs 9 letters (CCCCVVCVC) against schweige's 8 (CCCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between schweifen and schweige
A purely visual mix-up. schweifen ([ˈʃvaɪ̯fn̩]) and schweige ([ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡə]) 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 71878, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schweifen is recorded at frequency rank #32,259, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaɪ̯fn̩]. schweige is at rank #39,619, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡə].
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 71878, this pair ranks #404,241 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of schweifen vs schweige
Shared letters: cehisw. Private to "schweifen": fn. Private to "schweige": g.
"schweifen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC · "schweige" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schweifen" for "schweige" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schweifen" vs "schweige" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schweifen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schweige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #404,241 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schweifen" and "schweige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schweige vs schwinge". 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 #404,241 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.