Which to use
“verschwiegen” is an adjective and “verschwimmen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,057
- “verschwiegen” frequency rank
- #43,595
- “verschwimmen” frequency rank
- 56652
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschwiegen | verschwimmen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fähig zu schweigen, ein Geheimnis für sich zu behalten | (in der Wahrnehmung) undeutlich oder unklar werden |
Where the eye mixes verschwiegen and verschwimmen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verschwiegen (CVCCCCCVVCVC) and verschwimmen (CVCCCCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between verschwiegen and verschwimmen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschwiegen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃviːɡn̩] while verschwimmen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɪmən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschwiegen is recorded at frequency rank #13,057, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃviːɡn̩]. verschwimmen is at rank #43,595, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɪmən].
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 56652, this pair ranks #931,986 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verschwiegen vs verschwimmen
Shared letters: cehinrsvw. Private to "verschwiegen": g. Private to "verschwimmen": m.
"verschwiegen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVVCVC · "verschwimmen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschwiegen ← evrschwiegen · vercshwiegen · verrschwiegen · verscchwiegen · verschhwiegen · verschiwegen · verschwieegn · verschwiegenn
- verschwimmen ← evrschwimmen · vercshwimmen · verrschwimmen · verscchwimmen · verschhwimmen · verschiwmmen · verschwimemn · verschwimen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verschwiegen" and "verschwimmen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verschwiegen" or "verschwimmen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschwiegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verschwimmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #931,986 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschwiegen" and "verschwimmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschlimmern vs verschwimmen". 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 #931,986 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.