Which to use
“scharf” and “scharfes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,070
- “scharf” frequency rank
- #23,297
- “scharfes” frequency rank
- 26367
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scharf | scharfes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fähig, etwas zu (zer)schneiden oder zu stechen | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs scharf |
Where the eye mixes scharf and scharfes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between scharf and scharfes
A purely visual mix-up. scharf ([ʃaʁf]) and scharfes ([ˈʃaʁfəs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “scharf” sits inside “scharfes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26367, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scharf is recorded at frequency rank #3,070, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃaʁf]. scharfes is at rank #23,297, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃaʁfəs].
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 26367, this pair ranks #1,819,248 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scharf vs scharfes
Shared letters: acfhrs. Private to "scharf": -. Private to "scharfes": e.
"scharf" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "scharfes" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scharf" for "scharfes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "scharf" or "scharfes"?
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 "scharf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scharfes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,819,248 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scharf" and "scharfes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schärfere vs scharfes". 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 #1,819,248 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.