schälenvsschalltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#27,485
“schälen” frequency rank
#43,461
“schallt” frequency rank
70946
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schälen schallt
Definition etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schallen

Where the eye mixes schälen and schallt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. schälen (CCCVCVC) and schallt (CCCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
schälen
7 ch
schallt

Visual trap between schälen and schallt

A purely visual mix-up. schälen ([ˈʃɛːlən]) and schallt ([ʃalt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70946, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schälen is recorded at frequency rank #27,485, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛːlən]. schallt is at rank #43,461, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃalt].

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 70946, this pair ranks #431,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schälen vs schallt

Shared letters: chls. Private to "schälen": enä. Private to "schallt": at.

"schälen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC  ·  "schallt" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schallt ← cshallt · scahllt · scchallt · schalltt · schaltl · schhallt · schlalt · shcallt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schälen" for "schallt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛːlən] versus [ʃalt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schälen" or "schallt"?
"schälen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,485 in our German list, against #43,461 for "schallt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schälen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schallt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #431,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schälen" and "schallt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schallt vs Schnalle". 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 #431,157 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