Which to use
“Schwester” and “Schwestern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,459
- “Schwester” frequency rank
- #4,463
- “Schwestern” frequency rank
- 5922
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schwester | Schwestern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weibliches Kind derselben Eltern | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schwester |
Where the eye mixes Schwester and Schwestern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Schwester runs 9 letters (CCCCVCCVC) against Schwestern's 10 (CCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Schwester vs Schwestern
A purely visual mix-up. Schwester ([ˈʃvɛstɐ]) and Schwestern ([ˈʃvɛstɐn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Schwester” sits inside “Schwestern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5922, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schwester is recorded at frequency rank #1,459, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛstɐ]. Schwestern is at rank #4,463, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛstɐn].
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 5922, this pair ranks #1,993,294 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schwester vs Schwestern
Shared letters: cehrstw. Private to "Schwester": -. Private to "Schwestern": n.
"Schwester" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "Schwestern" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Schwester ← cshwester · scchwester · schewster · schhwester · schwesetr · schwesster · schwesterr · schwestre
- Schwestern ← cshwestern · scchwestern · schewstern · schhwestern · schwesetrn · schwesstern · schwestenr · schwesternn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schwester" for "Schwestern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Schwester" or "Schwestern"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwester" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwestern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,993,294 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schwester" and "Schwestern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schweizern vs Schwestern". 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 #1,993,294 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.