Which to use
“Schwimmer” is a noun and “schwimmt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,690
- “Schwimmer” frequency rank
- #15,205
- “schwimmt” frequency rank
- 28895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schwimmer | schwimmt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schwimmender Mensch | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schwimmen |
Where the eye mixes Schwimmer and schwimmt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Schwimmer runs 9 letters (CCCCVCCVC) against schwimmt's 8 (CCCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Schwimmer with schwimmt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schwimmer is [ˈʃvɪmɐ] while schwimmt is [ʃvɪmt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schwimmer is recorded at frequency rank #13,690, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɪmɐ]. schwimmt is at rank #15,205, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃvɪmt].
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 28895, this pair ranks #1,776,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schwimmer vs schwimmt
Shared letters: chimsw. Private to "Schwimmer": er. Private to "schwimmt": t.
"Schwimmer" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "schwimmt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Schwimmer" and "schwimmt" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Schwimmer" or "schwimmt" show up more?
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 "Schwimmer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwimmt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,776,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schwimmer" and "schwimmt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlemmer vs Schwimmer". 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 #1,776,663 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.