SchalevsScharWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Schale” and “Schar” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,451
“Schale” frequency rank
#21,759
“Schar” frequency rank
30210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schale Schar
Definition eine feste Schutzhülle, zum Beispiel bei Früchten, Samen, Vogeleiern, Lebensmitteln Gruppe von Personen oder Tieren; auch (An-)Sammlung von Dingen

Where the eye mixes Schale and Schar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Schale
5 ch
Schar

Visual trap between Schale and Schar

A purely visual mix-up. Schale ([ˈʃaːlə]) and Schar ([ʃaːɐ̯]) 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 30210, 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]. Schar is at rank #21,759, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃaːɐ̯].

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 30210, this pair ranks #1,752,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schale vs Schar

Shared letters: achs. Private to "Schale": el. Private to "Schar": r.

"Schale" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV  ·  "Schar" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schalecshale · scahle · scchale · schael · schalle · schhale · schlae · shcale
  • Scharcshar · scahr · scchar · scharr · schhar · schra · shcar · sschar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schale" for "Schar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaːlə] versus [ʃaːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schale" or "Schar"?
"Schale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,451 in our German list, against #21,759 for "Schar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Schale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,752,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schale" and "Schar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schar vs sonar". 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 #1,752,278 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list