Which to use
“schämen” is a verb and “schlauen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,663
- “schämen” frequency rank
- #33,271
- “schlauen” frequency rank
- 40934
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schämen | schlauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Scham empfinden | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schlau |
Where the eye mixes schämen and schlauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. schämen runs 7 letters (CCCVCVC) against schlauen's 8 (CCCCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses schämen with schlauen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schämen is [ˈʃɛːmən] while schlauen is [ˈʃlaʊ̯ən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40934, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schämen is recorded at frequency rank #7,663, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛːmən]. schlauen is at rank #33,271, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlaʊ̯ən].
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 40934, this pair ranks #1,494,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schämen vs schlauen
Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schämen": mä. Private to "schlauen": alu.
"schämen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC · "schlauen" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schlauen ← cshlauen · scchlauen · schaluen · schhlauen · schlaeun · schlauenn · schlaune · schllauen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schämen" and "schlauen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schämen" or "schlauen"?
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 "schämen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schlauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,494,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schämen" and "schlauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schläfer vs schlauen". 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 #1,494,100 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.