Which to use
“schalt” is a verb and “Scham” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,692
- “schalt” frequency rank
- #12,373
- “Scham” frequency rank
- 36065
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schalt | Scham |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schalten | angstbesetztes Empfinden, das meist durch eigenes und von anderen beobachtbares Fehlverhalten ausgelöst wird, durch das man deren Achtung zu verlieren droht |
Where the eye mixes schalt and Scham
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schalt and Scham
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schalt is [ʃalt] while Scham is [ʃaːm]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schalt is recorded at frequency rank #23,692, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃalt]. Scham is at rank #12,373, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃaːm].
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 36065, this pair ranks #1,624,831 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schalt vs Scham
Shared letters: achs. Private to "schalt": lt. Private to "Scham": m.
"schalt" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "Scham" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schalt" and "Scham" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schalt" or "Scham"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schalt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Scham" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,624,831 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schalt" and "Scham" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schalt vs schütt". 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 #1,624,831 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.