Which to use
“Schwerter” and “Schwester” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,694
- “Schwerter” frequency rank
- #1,459
- “Schwester” frequency rank
- 20153
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schwerter | Schwester |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schwert | weibliches Kind derselben Eltern |
Where the eye mixes Schwerter and Schwester
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Schwerter and Schwester follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Schwerter with Schwester
A purely visual mix-up. Schwerter ([ˈʃveːɐ̯tɐ]) and Schwester ([ˈʃvɛstɐ]) 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 a single letter - r in “Schwerter” becomes s in “Schwester”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20153, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schwerter is recorded at frequency rank #18,694, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃveːɐ̯tɐ]. Schwester is at rank #1,459, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛstɐ].
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 20153, this pair ranks #1,900,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schwerter vs Schwester
Shared letters: cehrstw. Private to "Schwerter": -. Private to "Schwester": -.
"Schwerter" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "Schwester" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schwerter" for "Schwester" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Schwerter" or "Schwester"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Schwerter" and "Schwester" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwerter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwester" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,900,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schwerter" and "Schwester" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schwerter vs Schwertern". 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 #1,900,692 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.