schälenvsschobenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#27,485
“schälen” frequency rank
#44,203
“schoben” frequency rank
71688
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schälen schoben
Definition etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schieben

Where the eye mixes schälen and schoben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. schälen and schoben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
schälen
7 ch
schoben

Look-alike desk: schälen vs schoben

A purely visual mix-up. schälen ([ˈʃɛːlən]) and schoben ([ˈʃoːbn̩]) 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 71688, 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]. schoben is at rank #44,203, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃoːbn̩].

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 71688, this pair ranks #409,741 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schälen vs schoben

Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schälen": lä. Private to "schoben": bo.

"schälen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC  ·  "schoben" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schoben ← cshoben · scchoben · schboen · schhoben · schobben · schobenn · schobne · schoebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schälen" and "schoben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛːlən] versus [ˈʃoːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schälen" or "schoben"?
"schälen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,485 in our German list, against #44,203 for "schoben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "schoben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #409,741 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schälen" and "schoben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schoben vs schrien". 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 #409,741 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