Which to use
“Scham” is a noun and “schramm” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,373
- “Scham” frequency rank
- #19,378
- “schramm” frequency rank
- 31751
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Scham | schramm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | angstbesetztes Empfinden, das meist durch eigenes und von anderen beobachtbares Fehlverhalten ausgelöst wird, durch das man deren Achtung zu verlieren droht | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schrammen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Scham and schramm apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Scham and schramm 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 2 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 31751, 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]. schramm is at rank #19,378, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃʁam].
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 31751, this pair ranks #1,721,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Scham" and "schramm" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Scham vs schramm
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Scham”; for a verb, it's “schramm”.
- 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