Which to use
“scharfen” and “schärfsten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,448
- “scharfen” frequency rank
- #30,758
- “schärfsten” frequency rank
- 40206
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scharfen | schärfsten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs scharf | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs scharf |
Where the eye mixes scharfen and schärfsten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. scharfen runs 8 letters (CCCVCCVC) against schärfsten's 10 (CCCVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: scharfen vs schärfsten
A purely visual mix-up. scharfen ([ˈʃaʁfn̩]) and schärfsten ([ˈʃɛʁfstn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40206, 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]. schärfsten is at rank #30,758, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁfstn̩].
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 40206, this pair ranks #1,515,114 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scharfen vs schärfsten
Shared letters: cefhnrs. Private to "scharfen": a. Private to "schärfsten": tä.
"scharfen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "schärfsten" · 10 letters · shape CCCVCCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- scharfen ← csharfen · scahrfen · sccharfen · schafren · scharefn · scharfenn · scharffen · scharfne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "scharfen" and "schärfsten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "scharfen" or "schärfsten" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "scharfen" and "schärfsten" 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 "schärfsten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,515,114 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scharfen" and "schärfsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schärfste vs schärfsten". 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 #1,515,114 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.