Which to use
“schwelgen” and “schwellen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,355
- “schwelgen” frequency rank
- #31,782
- “schwellen” frequency rank
- 66137
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwelgen | schwellen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | genießerisch, üppig speisen, trinken; luxuriös leben | größer, dicker werden; das Volumen vergrößern |
Where the eye mixes schwelgen and schwellen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. schwelgen and schwellen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between schwelgen and schwellen
A purely visual mix-up. schwelgen ([ˈʃvɛlɡn̩]) and schwellen ([ˈʃvɛlən]) 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 a single letter - g in “schwelgen” becomes l in “schwellen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwelgen is recorded at frequency rank #34,355, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɛlɡn̩]. schwellen is at rank #31,782, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɛlən].
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 66137, this pair ranks #583,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schwelgen vs schwellen
Shared letters: cehlnsw. Private to "schwelgen": g. Private to "schwellen": -.
"schwelgen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "schwellen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schwelgen" for "schwellen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "schwelgen" or "schwellen"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schwelgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #583,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwelgen" and "schwellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schellen vs schwelgen". 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 #583,356 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.