Which to use
“schäme” and “shame” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,170
- “schäme” frequency rank
- #43,491
- “shame” frequency rank
- 57661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schäme | shame |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schämen | jemanden beschämen |
Letter map: schäme vs shame
Shared letters muted; letters that set schäme and shame apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. schäme runs 6 letters (CCCVCV) against shame's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Corpus notes: schäme and shame
schäme and shame are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57661, 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]. shame is at rank #43,491, tagged as averb, pronounced […].
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 57661, this pair ranks #892,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schäme vs shame
Shared letters: ehms. Private to "schäme": cä. Private to "shame": a.
"schäme" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "shame" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- shame ← hsame · sahme · shaem · shamme · shhame · shmae · sshame
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schäme" for "shame" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schäme" vs "shame" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pair "schäme" vs "shame" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "schäme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "shame" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #892,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schäme" and "shame" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs shame". 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 #892,647 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.