Which to use
“schälen” and “scheren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,485
- “schälen” frequency rank
- #18,054
- “scheren” frequency rank
- 45539
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schälen | scheren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen | etwas mit einer Schere oder ähnlichem Gerät entfernen, etwas mit einer Schere oder ähnlichem Gerät von etwas befreien |
Where the eye mixes schälen and scheren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schälen vs scheren
A purely visual mix-up. schälen ([ˈʃɛːlən]) and scheren ([ˈʃeːʁən]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45539, 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]. scheren is at rank #18,054, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃeːʁən].
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 45539, this pair ranks #1,349,599 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schälen vs scheren
Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schälen": lä. Private to "scheren": r.
"schälen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC · "scheren" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- scheren ← csheren · sccheren · scehren · scheern · scherenn · scherne · scherren · schheren
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schälen" for "scheren" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schälen" vs "scheren" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "scheren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,349,599 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schälen" and "scheren" 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 #1,349,599 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.