Which to use
“scharf” and “schaue” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,070
- “scharf” frequency rank
- #4,228
- “schaue” frequency rank
- 7298
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scharf | schaue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fähig, etwas zu (zer)schneiden oder zu stechen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schau |
Where the eye mixes scharf and schaue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. scharf ([ʃaʁf]) and schaue ([ʃaʊ̯ə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7298, 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]. schaue is at rank #4,228, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃaʊ̯ə].
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 7298, this pair ranks #1,988,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scharf vs schaue
Shared letters: achs. Private to "scharf": fr. Private to "schaue": eu.
"scharf" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "schaue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "scharf" and "schaue" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "scharf" or "schaue"?
What to do next
You've compared "scharf" and "schaue". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "scharf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schaue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,988,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scharf" and "schaue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schaue vs Schläfe". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.