Which to use
“schweigen” and “schweigend” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,074
- “schweigen” frequency rank
- #27,922
- “schweigend” frequency rank
- 30996
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schweigen | schweigend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | still sein oder nicht reden | Partizip Präsens des Verbs schweigen |
Where the eye mixes schweigen and schweigend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schweigen and schweigend
A purely visual mix-up. schweigen ([ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and schweigend ([ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩t]) 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) - “schweigen” sits inside “schweigend”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schweigen is recorded at frequency rank #3,074, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩]. schweigend is at rank #27,922, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩t].
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 30996, this pair ranks #1,736,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schweigen vs schweigend
Shared letters: ceghinsw. Private to "schweigen": -. Private to "schweigend": d.
"schweigen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC · "schweigend" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schweigen ← cshweigen · scchweigen · schewigen · schhweigen · schwegien · schweiegn · schweigenn · schweiggen
- schweigend ← cshweigend · scchweigend · schewigend · schhweigend · schwegiend · schweiegnd · schweigedn · schweigendd
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schweigen" and "schweigend" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schweigen" or "schweigend" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "schweigen" and "schweigend" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schweigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schweigend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,736,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schweigen" and "schweigend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schweige vs schweigend". 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 #1,736,863 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.