Which to use
“schade” is an adjective and “Scham” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,431
- “schade” frequency rank
- #12,373
- “Scham” frequency rank
- 13804
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schade | Scham |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu bedauern, nicht erfreulich (seiend); traurig stimmend; zum Leidwesen, Schaden (seiend) | angstbesetztes Empfinden, das meist durch eigenes und von anderen beobachtbares Fehlverhalten ausgelöst wird, durch das man deren Achtung zu verlieren droht |
Where the eye mixes schade and Scham
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schade vs Scham
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schade is [ˈʃaːdə] while Scham is [ʃaːm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13804, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schade is recorded at frequency rank #1,431, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃaːdə]. Scham is at rank #12,373, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃaːm].
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 13804, this pair ranks #1,955,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schade vs Scham
Shared letters: achs. Private to "schade": de. Private to "Scham": m.
"schade" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "Scham" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schade" for "Scham" ever safe?
Which is more common, "schade" or "Scham"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Scham" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,955,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schade" and "Scham" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Scham vs Sesam". 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 #1,955,571 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.