schälenvsschrienWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#27,485
“schälen” frequency rank
#46,261
“schrien” frequency rank
73746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes schälen and schrien

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. schälen (CCCVCVC) and schrien (CCCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
schälen
7 ch
schrien

Visual trap between schälen and schrien

A purely visual mix-up. schälen ([ˈʃɛːlən]) and schrien ([ʃʁiːn]) 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 73746, 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]. schrien is at rank #46,261, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃʁiːn].

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 73746, this pair ranks #352,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schälen vs schrien

Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schälen": lä. Private to "schrien": ir.

"schälen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC  ·  "schrien" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schrien ← cshrien · scchrien · schhrien · schiren · schrienn · schrine · schrrien · scrhien

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schälen" and "schrien" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛːlən] versus [ʃʁiːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schälen" or "schrien"?
"schälen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,485 in our German list, against #46,261 for "schrien". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "schälen" and "schrien" 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 "schrien" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #352,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schälen" and "schrien" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schreier 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 #352,018 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