Which to use
“scharfen” and “scharfer” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,448
- “scharfen” frequency rank
- #21,412
- “scharfer” frequency rank
- 30860
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scharfen | scharfer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs scharf | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs scharf |
Where the eye mixes scharfen and scharfer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses scharfen with scharfer
A purely visual mix-up. scharfen ([ˈʃaʁfn̩]) and scharfer ([ˈʃaʁfɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “scharfen” becomes r in “scharfer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scharfen is recorded at frequency rank #9,448, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃaʁfn̩]. scharfer is at rank #21,412, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃaʁfɐ].
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 30860, this pair ranks #1,739,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scharfen vs scharfer
Shared letters: acefhrs. Private to "scharfen": n. Private to "scharfer": -.
"scharfen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "scharfer" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scharfen" for "scharfer" ever safe?
Which is more common, "scharfen" or "scharfer"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "scharfen" and "scharfer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "scharfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scharfer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,739,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scharfen" and "scharfer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "scharfer vs Schläfer". 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 #1,739,654 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.