Which to use
“Scham” is a noun and “schräg” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,373
- “Scham” frequency rank
- #8,939
- “schräg” frequency rank
- 21312
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Scham | schräg |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | angstbesetztes Empfinden, das meist durch eigenes und von anderen beobachtbares Fehlverhalten ausgelöst wird, durch das man deren Achtung zu verlieren droht | von einer (gedachten) geraden, horizontalen oder vertikalen Linie abweichend (und einen spitzen, stumpfen aber niemals rechten Winkel bildend) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Scham and schräg apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Scham and schräg form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Scham is recorded at frequency rank #12,373, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃaːm]. schräg is at rank #8,939, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃʁɛːk].
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 21312, this pair ranks #1,887,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Scham" and "schräg" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Scham vs schräg
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Scham”; for an adjective, it's “schräg”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Scham” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable