schwierig
[ˈʃviːʁɪç]
The verdict
“schwierig” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #1,745 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #1,745
- frequency rank, German
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - eine Herausforderung darstellend, nicht einfach
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 | schwierig |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ˈʃviːʁɪç] |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #1,745 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “schwierig” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for schwierig is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʃviːʁɪç]. Corpus data places it at rank #1,745 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "eine Herausforderung darstellend, nicht einfach".
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for schwierig, with forms such as "cshwierig", "scchwierig", and "schhwierig". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "schwierige", "schwieriger", "schwierigen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is schwierig, spelled S-C-H-W-I-E-R-I-G.
Definition
- 1eine Herausforderung darstellend, nicht einfach
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cshwierig,scchwierig,schhwierig,schiwerig,schweirig,schwieirg,schwiergi,schwierigg,schwierrig,schwireig,schwwierig,scwhierig,shcwierig,sschwierig
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of schwierig - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "schwierig"?
What does "schwierig" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "schwierig"?
How do you pronounce "schwierig"?
What language does "schwierig" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “schwierig”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is S-C-H-W-I-E-R-I-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈʃviːʁɪç] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “schwierige” - see the side-by-side comparison. schwierig vs schwierige
- 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.