Which to use
“Scham” is a noun and “sha” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,373
- “Scham” frequency rank
- #40,842
- “sha” frequency rank
- 53215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Scham | sha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | angstbesetztes Empfinden, das meist durch eigenes und von anderen beobachtbares Fehlverhalten ausgelöst wird, durch das man deren Achtung zu verlieren droht | eine Flüssigkeit aufnehmen; trinken |
Where the eye mixes Scham and sha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Scham and sha
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Scham is [ʃaːm] while sha is [ʃáː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53215, 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]. sha is at rank #40,842, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃáː].
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 53215, this pair ranks #1,066,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Scham vs sha
Shared letters: ahs. Private to "Scham": cm. Private to "sha": -.
"Scham" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "sha" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Scham ← csham · scahm · sccham · schamm · schham · schma · shcam · sscham
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Scham" for "sha" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Scham" vs "sha" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Scham" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,066,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Scham" and "sha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs sha". 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 #1,066,744 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.