SchalevsschämeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schale is a noun, schäme is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schale” is a noun and “schäme” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,451
“Schale” frequency rank
#14,170
“schäme” frequency rank
22621
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schale schäme
Definition eine feste Schutzhülle, zum Beispiel bei Früchten, Samen, Vogeleiern, Lebensmitteln 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schämen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schale and schäme apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Schale
6 ch
schäme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schale is [ˈʃaːlə] while schäme is [ˈʃɛːmə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schale is recorded at frequency rank #8,451, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaːlə]. schäme is at rank #14,170, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛːmə].

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 22621, this pair ranks #1,871,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schale vs schäme

Shared letters: cehs. Private to "Schale": al. Private to "schäme": .

"Schale" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV  ·  "schäme" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schalecshale · scahle · scchale · schael · schalle · schhale · schlae · shcale

Frequency comparison

Schale#8,451
schäme#14,170

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schale" and "schäme" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schale" is a noun and "schäme" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schale" or "schäme"?
"Schale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,451 in our German list, against #14,170 for "schäme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schale vs schäme

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schale”; for a verb, it's “schäme”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schale” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list