Which to use
“schärfe” is a verb and “Schirme” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,126
- “schärfe” frequency rank
- #46,960
- “Schirme” frequency rank
- 64086
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schärfe | Schirme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schärfen | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schirm |
Where the eye mixes schärfe and Schirme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schärfe vs Schirme
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schärfe is [ˈʃɛʁfə] while Schirme is [ˈʃɪʁmə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64086, 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]. Schirme is at rank #46,960, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪʁmə].
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 64086, this pair ranks #653,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schärfe vs Schirme
Shared letters: cehrs. Private to "schärfe": fä. Private to "Schirme": im.
"schärfe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV · "Schirme" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Schirme ← cshirme · scchirme · schhirme · schimre · schirem · schirmme · schirrme · schrime
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schärfe" and "Schirme" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "schärfe" vs "Schirme" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "schärfe" and "Schirme" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schärfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schirme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #653,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schärfe" and "Schirme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schirme 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 #653,930 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.