swim

[swɪm]

/[swɪm]/ verb

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

The verdict

“swim” is uncommon German (frequency #65,745 among 8,027 “S” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,745
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sich auf oder in einer Flüssigkeit (aus eigener Kraft) fortbewegen; schwimmen

Corpus desk

Index DE-swim · swim · German

swim · rank #65,745 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,745
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Swingerclub

Nearest frequency peer: Swingerclub (+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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „swim“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „swim“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for swim
PropertyValue
Headwordswim
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[swɪm]
Letters4
Frequency rank#65,745
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „swim“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).swimfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Swingerclub“ (#65,746), „Sympathisant“ (#65,748), „Sundern“ (#65,741). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „swim“ bei #65,745. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

swim is uncommon German at frequency #65,745 among 8,027 “S” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [swɪm]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

swim has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is swim, spelled S-W-I-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich auf oder in einer Flüssigkeit (aus eigener Kraft) fortbewegen; schwimmen
  2. 2
    ins Wasser tauchen/gehen, um sich zu reinigen oder zu erfrischen; baden
  3. 3
    auf einem Medium treiben; nicht untergehen; schweben
  4. 4
    sich dem Schwimmen^([1]) ähnlich fortbewegen; treiben, gleiten

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Since I cannot swim yet, I am going to learn how to swim soon.
  2. Now he is swimming for two hours non-stop!

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 "swim"?
"swim" is spelled S-W-I-M. The IPA pronunciation is [swɪm].
What does "swim" mean?
As a verb, "swim" means: sich auf oder in einer Flüssigkeit (aus eigener Kraft) fortbewegen; schwimmen
How do you pronounce "swim"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "swim" is [swɪm]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "swim" come from?
"swim" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "swim", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Tuff#65,775sont#65,693quai#65,600PTBS#65,594

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list