schwanken

[ˈʃvaŋkn̩]

/[ˈʃvaŋkn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“schwanken” has 15 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #18,055. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,055
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sich nicht entscheiden können; sich mal so, mal so äußern oder verhalten

Corpus desk

Index DE-schwanken · schwanken · German

schwanken · rank #18,055 · 15 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,055
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH scheren

Nearest frequency peer: scheren (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „schwanken“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „schwanken“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

schwanken vs schwänze
67% similar
schwanken vs schwankt
78% similar
schwanken vs schwingen
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

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

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „schwanken“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).schwankenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „scheren“ (#18,054), „schöneres“ (#18,056), „schüttelt“ (#18,057). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „schwanken“ bei #18,055. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around schwanken (IPA [ˈʃvaŋkn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #18,055 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for schwanken, with forms such as "cshwanken", "scchwanken", and "schawnken". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, 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, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is schwanken, spelled S-C-H-W-A-N-K-E-N.

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

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how schwanken appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ich habe mich noch nicht festgelegt - ich schwanke noch zwischen gleich oder später.
  2. „Und dann steht die Berufswahl an. »Ich habe lange geschwankt zwischen Arzt und Schauspieler.«“

This word in other languages

vacillate(English)vacilar(Español)hésiter(Français)flutuar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cshwanken
  • scchwanken
  • schawnken
  • schhwanken
  • schwaknen
  • schwanekn
  • schwankenn
  • schwankken
  • schwankne
  • schwannken
  • schwnaken
  • schwwanken
  • scwhanken
  • shcwanken
  • sschwanken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of schwanken - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cshwanken2scchwanken1schawnken2schhwanken1schwaknen2schwanekn2schwankenn1schwankken1
Edit distance from "schwanken"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "schwanken", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

schöneres#18,056schüttelt#18,057Sarkasmus#18,050Spielplan#18,069

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

sogenanntes15 variantsReportagen15 variantsStichwahl15 variantsPflegeheim15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list