schwer
[ʃveːɐ̯]
The verdict
“schwer” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #446 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #446
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - ein hohes Gewicht habend
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | schwer |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ʃveːɐ̯] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #446 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “schwer” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for schwer is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ʃveːɐ̯]. Corpus data places it at rank #446 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for schwer, with forms such as "cshwer", "scchwer", and "schewr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Seher", "sicher", "schwul", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is schwer, spelled S-C-H-W-E-R.
Definition
- 1ein hohes Gewicht habend
- 2Eigenschaft von etwas, das nur mit großem Wissen, großen Fähigkeiten ausgeführt werden kann
- 3von großen Mühen und Entbehrungen gekennzeichnet
- 4stark ausgeprägt
- 5ein körperreicher, wenig differenzierter Wein, der jegliche Feinheit vermissen lässt
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cshwer,scchwer,schewr,schhwer,schwerr,schwre,schwwer,scwher,shcwer,sschwer
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of schwer - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "schwer"?
What does "schwer" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “schwer”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is S-C-H-W-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ʃveːɐ̯] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Seher” - see the side-by-side comparison. schwer vs Seher
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.