Which to use
“schweige” and “schweigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,619
- “schweige” frequency rank
- #3,074
- “schweigen” frequency rank
- 42693
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schweige | schweigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schweigen | still sein oder nicht reden |
Where the eye mixes schweige and schweigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schweige with schweigen
A purely visual mix-up. schweige ([ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡə]) and schweigen ([ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩]) 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) - “schweige” sits inside “schweigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schweige is recorded at frequency rank #39,619, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡə]. schweigen is at rank #3,074, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩].
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 42693, this pair ranks #1,441,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schweige vs schweigen
Shared letters: ceghisw. Private to "schweige": -. Private to "schweigen": n.
"schweige" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVCV · "schweigen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schweige" for "schweigen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schweige" vs "schweigen" - 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 "schweige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schweigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,441,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schweige" and "schweigen" 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 #1,441,521 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.