Which to use
“schälen” is a verb and “scharfen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,485
- “schälen” frequency rank
- #9,448
- “scharfen” frequency rank
- 36933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schälen | scharfen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs scharf |
Where the eye mixes schälen and scharfen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schälen with scharfen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schälen is [ˈʃɛːlən] while scharfen is [ˈʃaʁfn̩]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36933, 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]. scharfen is at rank #9,448, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃaʁfn̩].
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 36933, this pair ranks #1,602,960 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schälen vs scharfen
Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schälen": lä. Private to "scharfen": afr.
"schälen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC · "scharfen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- scharfen ← csharfen · scahrfen · sccharfen · schafren · scharefn · scharfenn · scharffen · scharfne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schälen" and "scharfen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "schälen" or "scharfen" show up more?
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 "schälen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scharfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,602,960 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schälen" and "scharfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schälchen vs schälen". 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 #1,602,960 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.