schwierigvsschwierigesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,745
“schwierig” frequency rank
#19,034
“schwieriges” frequency rank
20779
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwierig schwieriges
Definition eine Herausforderung darstellend, nicht einfach Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schwierig

Where the eye mixes schwierig and schwieriges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. schwierig runs 9 letters (CCCCVVCVC) against schwieriges's 11 (CCCCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
schwierig
11 ch
schwieriges

Look-alike desk: schwierig vs schwieriges

A purely visual mix-up. schwierig ([ˈʃviːʁɪç]) and schwieriges ([ˈʃviːʁɪɡəs]) 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) - “schwierig” sits inside “schwieriges”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20779, 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]. schwieriges is at rank #19,034, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃviːʁɪɡəs].

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 20779, this pair ranks #1,893,861 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schwierig vs schwieriges

Shared letters: ceghirsw. Private to "schwierig": -. Private to "schwieriges": -.

"schwierig" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC  ·  "schwieriges" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwierig ← cshwierig · scchwierig · schhwierig · schiwerig · schweirig · schwieirg · schwiergi · schwierigg
  • schwieriges ← cshwieriges · scchwieriges · schhwieriges · schiweriges · schweiriges · schwieirges · schwiergies · schwieriegs

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schwierig" and "schwieriges" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃviːʁɪç] versus [ˈʃviːʁɪɡəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schwierig" or "schwieriges"?
"schwierig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,745 in our German list, against #19,034 for "schwieriges". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schwierig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schwieriges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,893,861 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schwierig" and "schwieriges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwieg vs schwierig". 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 #1,893,861 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