Which to use
“scale” and “Scan” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,769
- “scale” frequency rank
- #20,044
- “Scan” frequency rank
- 51813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scale | Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Waage | Kopie beziehungsweise das Abbild einer Vorlage, die mit Hilfe eines Scanners erstellt wurde |
Where the eye mixes scale and Scan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses scale with Scan
A purely visual mix-up. scale ([skeɪl]) and Scan ([skɛn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scale is recorded at frequency rank #31,769, classified as anoun, pronounced [skeɪl]. Scan is at rank #20,044, tagged as anoun, pronounced [skɛn].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 51813, this pair ranks #1,121,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scale vs Scan
Shared letters: acs. Private to "scale": el. Private to "Scan": n.
"scale" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "Scan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scale" for "Scan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "scale" vs "Scan" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "scale" and "Scan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "scale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Scan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,121,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scale" and "Scan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sake vs scale". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,121,052 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.