schämevsSchneeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schäme is a verb, Schnee is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schäme” is a verb and “Schnee” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,170
“schäme” frequency rank
#2,917
“Schnee” frequency rank
17087
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schäme Schnee
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schämen Niederschlag in Form von Eiskristallen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schäme and Schnee apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
schäme
6 ch
Schnee

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schäme is [ˈʃɛːmə] while Schnee is [ʃneː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17087, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schäme is recorded at frequency rank #14,170, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛːmə]. Schnee is at rank #2,917, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃneː].

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 17087, this pair ranks #1,930,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schäme vs Schnee

Shared letters: cehs. Private to "schäme": . Private to "Schnee": n.

"schäme" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV  ·  "Schnee" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schneecshnee · scchnee · schene · schhnee · schne · schnnee · scnhee · shcnee

Frequency comparison

schäme#14,170
Schnee#2,917

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schäme" and "Schnee" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schäme" is a verb and "Schnee" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schäme" or "Schnee"?
"Schnee" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,917 in our German list, against #14,170 for "schäme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schäme vs Schnee

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schäme”; for a noun, it's “Schnee”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schäme” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list