Which to use
“schälen” and “schämen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,485
- “schälen” frequency rank
- #7,663
- “schämen” frequency rank
- 35148
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schälen | schämen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen | Scham empfinden |
Where the eye mixes schälen and schämen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schälen and schämen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses schälen with schämen
A purely visual mix-up. schälen ([ˈʃɛːlən]) and schämen ([ˈʃɛːmən]) 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 a single letter - l in “schälen” becomes m in “schämen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35148, 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]. schämen is at rank #7,663, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛːmən].
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 35148, this pair ranks #1,646,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schälen vs schämen
Shared letters: cehnsä. Private to "schälen": l. Private to "schämen": m.
"schälen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC · "schämen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schälen" and "schämen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schälen" or "schämen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "schälen" and "schämen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schälen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schämen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,646,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schälen" and "schämen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schälchen vs schälen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,646,921 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.