schwerwiegendvsschwerwiegendenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,456
“schwerwiegend” frequency rank
#27,048
“schwerwiegenden” frequency rank
68504
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwerwiegend schwerwiegenden
Definition mit weitreichenden, meist negativen Auswirkungen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schwerwiegend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schwerwiegend and schwerwiegenden apart are highlighted. They share 13 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

13 ch
schwerwiegend
15 ch
schwerwiegenden

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schwerwiegend ([ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌviːɡn̩t]) and schwerwiegenden ([ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌviːɡn̩dən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “schwerwiegend” sits inside “schwerwiegenden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schwerwiegend is recorded at frequency rank #41,456, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌviːɡn̩t]. schwerwiegenden is at rank #27,048, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌviːɡn̩dən].

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 68504, this pair ranks #505,604 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schwerwiegend vs schwerwiegenden

Shared letters: cdeghinrsw. Private to "schwerwiegend": -. Private to "schwerwiegenden": -.

"schwerwiegend" · 13 letters · shape CCCCVCCVVCVCC  ·  "schwerwiegenden" · 15 letters · shape CCCCVCCVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwerwiegendcshwerwiegend · scchwerwiegend · schewrwiegend · schhwerwiegend · schweriwegend · schwerrwiegend · schwerweigend · schwerwieegnd
  • schwerwiegendencshwerwiegenden · scchwerwiegenden · schewrwiegenden · schhwerwiegenden · schweriwegenden · schwerrwiegenden · schwerweigenden · schwerwieegnden

Frequency comparison

schwerwiegend#41,456
schwerwiegenden#27,048

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schwerwiegend" and "schwerwiegenden" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌviːɡn̩t] versus [ˈʃveːɐ̯ˌviːɡn̩dən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schwerwiegend" or "schwerwiegenden"?
"schwerwiegenden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,048 in our German list, against #41,456 for "schwerwiegend". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schwerwiegend vs schwerwiegenden

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schwerwiegend” 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