Which to use
“verschweigen” is a verb and “verschwiegen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,314
- “verschweigen” frequency rank
- #13,057
- “verschwiegen” frequency rank
- 29371
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschweigen | verschwiegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bewusst nicht sagen oder aussprechen | fähig zu schweigen, ein Geheimnis für sich zu behalten |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verschweigen and verschwiegen apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschweigen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩] while verschwiegen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃviːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (ei ↔ ie) - a transposition the eye reads straight past, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29371, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschweigen is recorded at frequency rank #16,314, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩]. verschwiegen is at rank #13,057, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃviːɡn̩].
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 29371, this pair ranks #1,768,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verschweigen vs verschwiegen
Shared letters: ceghinrsvw. Private to "verschweigen": -. Private to "verschwiegen": -.
"verschweigen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVVCVC · "verschwiegen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschweigen ← evrschweigen · vercshweigen · verrschweigen · verscchweigen · verschewigen · verschhweigen · verschwegien · verschweiegn
- verschwiegen ← evrschwiegen · vercshwiegen · verrschwiegen · verscchwiegen · verschhwiegen · verschiwegen · verschwieegn · verschwiegenn
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verschweigen" and "verschwiegen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verschweigen" or "verschwiegen"?
Remembering verschweigen vs verschwiegen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verschweigen”; for an adjective, it's “verschwiegen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verschweigen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable