Which to use
“Schwelle” is a noun and “schwillt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,236
- “Schwelle” frequency rank
- #42,121
- “schwillt” frequency rank
- 55357
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schwelle | schwillt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unterer Querbalken eines Türrahmens, über den man zum Eintreten geht | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schwellen |
Where the eye mixes Schwelle and schwillt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Schwelle (CCCCVCCV) and schwillt (CCCCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Schwelle with schwillt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schwelle is [ˈʃvɛlə] while schwillt is [ʃvɪlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55357, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schwelle is recorded at frequency rank #13,236, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛlə]. schwillt is at rank #42,121, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃvɪlt].
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 55357, this pair ranks #982,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Schwelle vs schwillt
Shared letters: chlsw. Private to "Schwelle": e. Private to "schwillt": it.
"Schwelle" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV · "schwillt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schwelle" for "schwillt" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Schwelle" or "schwillt"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Schwelle" and "schwillt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwelle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwillt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #982,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schwelle" and "schwillt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schrille vs schwillt". 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 #982,746 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.