Which to use
“Schwindel” is a noun and “schwindelig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,405
- “Schwindel” frequency rank
- #29,775
- “schwindelig” frequency rank
- 44180
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schwindel | schwindelig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Beeinträchtigung des Gleichgewichtssinns; Gefühl zu taumeln, wanken | den Schwindel habend, mit dem Schwindel behaftet |
Where the eye mixes Schwindel and schwindelig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Schwindel runs 9 letters (CCCCVCCVC) against schwindelig's 11 (CCCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Schwindel vs schwindelig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schwindel is [ˈʃvɪndl̩] while schwindelig is [ˈʃvɪndəlɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Schwindel” sits inside “schwindelig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44180, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schwindel is recorded at frequency rank #14,405, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɪndl̩]. schwindelig is at rank #29,775, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃvɪndəlɪç].
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 44180, this pair ranks #1,394,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Schwindel vs schwindelig
Shared letters: cdehilnsw. Private to "Schwindel": -. Private to "schwindelig": g.
"Schwindel" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "schwindelig" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Schwindel ← cshwindel · scchwindel · schhwindel · schiwndel · schwidnel · schwinddel · schwindell · schwindle
- schwindelig ← cshwindelig · scchwindelig · schhwindelig · schiwndelig · schwidnelig · schwinddelig · schwindeilg · schwindelgi
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schwindel" for "schwindelig" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Schwindel" vs "schwindelig" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Schwindel" and "schwindelig" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwindel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwindelig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,394,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schwindel" and "schwindelig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schwindel vs schwinge". 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 #1,394,408 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.