schwanken

/[ˈʃvaŋkn̩]/ verb

Letters

9 characters

Frequency Rank

#18,055

in German word usage

Misspellings

15

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

schwanken is aGermanverb. It means: sich nicht entscheiden können; sich mal so, mal so äußern oder verhalten Pronounced [ˈʃvaŋkn̩]. Often confused with schwänze and schwankt.

Key facts for schwanken
PropertyValue
Headwordschwanken
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʃvaŋkn̩]
Letters9
Frequency rank#18,055
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of schwanken in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for schwanken is 9 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʃvaŋkn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #18,055 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 15 documented wrong-spelling variants for schwanken, with forms such as "cshwanken", "scchwanken", and "schawnken". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "schwänze", "schwankt", "schwingen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is schwanken, spelled S-C-H-W-A-N-K-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich nicht entscheiden können; sich mal so, mal so äußern oder verhalten
  2. 2
    unsicher stehen und gehen; den Schwerpunkt hin und her verlagern, dabei oftmals mit dem Oberkörper pendeln
  3. 3
    sich ständig verändern

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cshwanken,scchwanken,schawnken,schhwanken,schwaknen,schwanekn,schwankenn,schwankken,schwankne,schwannken,schwnaken,schwwanken,scwhanken,shcwanken,sschwanken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for schwanken

Misspelling Variants of "schwanken"

cshwanken9scchwanken10schawnken9schhwanken10schwaknen9schwanekn9schwankenn10schwankken10
Misspelling Variants of "schwanken"

Frequency rank: #18,055 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "schwanken"?
"schwanken" is spelled S-C-H-W-A-N-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃvaŋkn̩].
What does "schwanken" mean?
As a verb, "schwanken" means: sich nicht entscheiden können; sich mal so, mal so äußern oder verhalten
What words are commonly confused with "schwanken"?
"schwanken" is commonly confused with "schwänze", "schwankt", "schwingen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "schwanken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schwanken" is [ˈʃvaŋkn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schwanken" come from?
"schwanken" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.