schämtvsshameWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“schämt” and “shame” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,884
“schämt” frequency rank
#43,491
“shame” frequency rank
66375
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schämt shame
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schämen jemanden beschämen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schämt and shame apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
schämt
5 ch
shame

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

schämt 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 66375, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schämt is recorded at frequency rank #22,884, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃɛːmt]. 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 66375, this pair ranks #575,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schämt vs shame

Shared letters: hms. Private to "schämt": ctä. Private to "shame": ae.

"schämt" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "shame" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • shamehsame · sahme · shaem · shamme · shhame · shmae · sshame

Frequency comparison

schämt#22,884
shame#43,491

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schämt" and "shame" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "schämt" or "shame"?
"schämt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,884 in our German list, against #43,491 for "shame". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schämt vs shame

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schämt” 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