Which to use
“schärfe” is a verb and “scharfes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,126
- “schärfe” frequency rank
- #23,297
- “scharfes” frequency rank
- 40423
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schärfe | scharfes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schärfen | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs scharf |
Where the eye mixes schärfe and scharfes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schärfe runs 7 letters (CCCVCCV) against scharfes's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: schärfe vs scharfes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schärfe is [ˈʃɛʁfə] while scharfes is [ˈʃaʁfəs]. 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 40423, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schärfe is recorded at frequency rank #17,126, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁfə]. 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 40423, this pair ranks #1,508,940 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schärfe vs scharfes
Shared letters: cefhrs. Private to "schärfe": ä. Private to "scharfes": a.
"schärfe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV · "scharfes" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- scharfes ← csharfes · scahrfes · sccharfes · schafres · scharefs · scharfess · scharffes · scharfse
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schärfe" for "scharfes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schärfe" vs "scharfes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schärfe" 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 #1,508,940 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schärfe" and "scharfes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schärfe vs Schurke". 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 #1,508,940 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.