Which to use
“schwierig” and “schwierige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,745
- “schwierig” frequency rank
- #6,352
- “schwierige” frequency rank
- 8097
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwierig | schwierige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Herausforderung darstellend, nicht einfach | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schwierig |
Where the eye mixes schwierig and schwierige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. schwierig runs 9 letters (CCCCVVCVC) against schwierige's 10 (CCCCVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between schwierig and schwierige
A purely visual mix-up. schwierig ([ˈʃviːʁɪç]) and schwierige ([ˈʃviːʁɪɡə]) 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) - “schwierig” sits inside “schwierige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8097, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwierig is recorded at frequency rank #1,745, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃviːʁɪç]. schwierige is at rank #6,352, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃviːʁɪɡə].
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 8097, this pair ranks #1,985,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schwierig vs schwierige
Shared letters: ceghirsw. Private to "schwierig": -. Private to "schwierige": -.
"schwierig" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC · "schwierige" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- schwierig ← cshwierig · scchwierig · schhwierig · schiwerig · schweirig · schwieirg · schwiergi · schwierigg
- schwierige ← cshwierige · scchwierige · schhwierige · schiwerige · schweirige · schwieirge · schwiergie · schwierieg
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schwierig" and "schwierige" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "schwierig" vs "schwierige" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schwierig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwierige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,985,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwierig" and "schwierige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schweige vs schwierige". 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 #1,985,650 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.