schweresvsschwulesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,563
“schweres” frequency rank
#49,242
“schwules” frequency rank
59805
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schweres schwules
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schwer Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schwul

Where the eye mixes schweres and schwules

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schweres and schwules follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
schweres
8 ch
schwules

Look-alike desk: schweres vs schwules

A purely visual mix-up. schweres ([ˈʃveːʁəs]) and schwules ([ˈʃvuːləs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schweres is recorded at frequency rank #10,563, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːʁəs]. schwules is at rank #49,242, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃvuːləs].

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 59805, this pair ranks #810,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schweres vs schwules

Shared letters: cehsw. Private to "schweres": r. Private to "schwules": lu.

"schweres" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC  ·  "schwules" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwerescshweres · scchweres · schewres · schhweres · schweers · schweress · schwerres · schwerse
  • schwulescshwules · scchwules · schhwules · schuwles · schwlues · schwuels · schwuless · schwulles

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schweres" and "schwules" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃveːʁəs] versus [ˈʃvuːləs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schweres" or "schwules"?
"schweres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,563 in our German list, against #49,242 for "schwules". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schweres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schwules" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #810,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schweres" and "schwules" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schmales vs schwules". 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 #810,691 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