Which to use
“schwere” is an adjective and “schwören” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,988
- “schwere” frequency rank
- #17,408
- “schwören” frequency rank
- 19396
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwere | schwören |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schwer | einen Schwur oder Eid ablegen, abgeben, leisten |
Where the eye mixes schwere and schwören
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schwere and schwören
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schwere is [ˈʃveːʁə] while schwören is [ˈʃvøːʁən]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwere is recorded at frequency rank #1,988, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːʁə]. schwören is at rank #17,408, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃvøːʁən].
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 19396, this pair ranks #1,908,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schwere vs schwören
Shared letters: cehrsw. Private to "schwere": -. Private to "schwören": nö.
"schwere" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV · "schwören" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schwere ← cshwere · scchwere · schewre · schhwere · schweer · schwerre · schwree · schwwere
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schwere" and "schwören" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "schwere" vs "schwören" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schwere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwören" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,908,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwere" and "schwören" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwirren vs schwören". 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 #1,908,733 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.