schwenkenvsschwenktTell them apart

Which to use

“schwenken” and “schwenkt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,756
“schwenken” frequency rank
#38,397
“schwenkt” frequency rank
69153
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwenken schwenkt
Definition hin und her bewegen, wedeln 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schwenken

Where the eye mixes schwenken and schwenkt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schwenken runs 9 letters (CCCCVCCVC) against schwenkt's 8 (CCCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
schwenken
8 ch
schwenkt

Visual trap between schwenken and schwenkt

A purely visual mix-up. schwenken ([ˈʃvɛŋkn̩]) and schwenkt ([ʃvɛŋkt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69153, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schwenken is recorded at frequency rank #30,756, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvɛŋkn̩]. schwenkt is at rank #38,397, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃvɛŋkt].

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 69153, this pair ranks #485,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schwenken vs schwenkt

Shared letters: cehknsw. Private to "schwenken": -. Private to "schwenkt": t.

"schwenken" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC  ·  "schwenkt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwenkencshwenken · scchwenken · schewnken · schhwenken · schweknen · schwenekn · schwenkenn · schwenkken
  • schwenktcshwenkt · scchwenkt · schewnkt · schhwenkt · schweknt · schwenkkt · schwenktt · schwennkt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schwenken" and "schwenkt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃvɛŋkn̩] versus [ʃvɛŋkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schwenken" or "schwenkt"?
"schwenken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,756 in our German list, against #38,397 for "schwenkt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "schwenken" and "schwenkt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schwenken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schwenkt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #485,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schwenken" and "schwenkt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwanke vs schwenkt". 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 #485,403 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list