schwellenvsSchwellungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schwellen is a verb, Schwellung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schwellen” is a verb and “Schwellung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,782
“schwellen” frequency rank
#27,481
“Schwellung” frequency rank
59263
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwellen Schwellung
Definition größer, dicker werden; das Volumen vergrößern Stelle am Körper, die dicker als normal ist

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schwellen and Schwellung apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
schwellen
10 ch
Schwellung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schwellen is [ˈʃvɛlən] while Schwellung is [ˈʃvɛlʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schwellen is recorded at frequency rank #31,782, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɛlən]. Schwellung is at rank #27,481, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛlʊŋ].

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 59263, this pair ranks #831,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schwellen vs Schwellung

Shared letters: cehlnsw. Private to "schwellen": -. Private to "Schwellung": gu.

"schwellen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC  ·  "Schwellung" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwellencshwellen · scchwellen · schewllen · schhwellen · schweleln · schwelen · schwellenn · schwellne
  • Schwellungcshwellung · scchwellung · schewllung · schhwellung · schwellnug · schwellugn · schwellungg · schwellunng

Frequency comparison

schwellen#31,782
Schwellung#27,481

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schwellen" and "Schwellung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schwellen" is a verb and "Schwellung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schwellen" or "Schwellung"?
"Schwellung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,481 in our German list, against #31,782 for "schwellen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schwellen vs Schwellung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schwellen”; for a noun, it's “Schwellung”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schwellen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list