ScheidevsSchmiedeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Scheide” and “Schmiede” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,494
“Scheide” frequency rank
#17,401
“Schmiede” frequency rank
41895
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Scheide Schmiede
Definition Transport- oder Aufbewahrungsbehälter für Hieb- und Stichwaffen Ort oder Werkstatt, ausgestattet mit einer oder mehreren Schmiedefeuern, Essen, Blasebälgen und Werkzeugen zum Zwecke der Metallbearbeitung, wie zum Beispiel dem Amboss; hier gehen Schmiede ihrem Handwerk nach

Where the eye mixes Scheide and Schmiede

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Scheide
8 ch
Schmiede

Look-alike desk: Scheide vs Schmiede

A purely visual mix-up. Scheide ([ˈʃaɪ̯də]) and Schmiede ([ˈʃmiːdə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Scheide is recorded at frequency rank #24,494, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯də]. Schmiede is at rank #17,401, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃmiːdə].

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 41895, this pair ranks #1,465,833 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Scheide vs Schmiede

Shared letters: cdehis. Private to "Scheide": -. Private to "Schmiede": m.

"Scheide" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCV  ·  "Schmiede" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Scheidecsheide · sccheide · scehide · schedie · scheidde · scheied · schheide · schiede
  • Schmiedecshmiede · scchmiede · schhmiede · schimede · schmeide · schmidee · schmiedde · schmieed

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Scheide" for "Schmiede" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaɪ̯də] versus [ˈʃmiːdə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Scheide" or "Schmiede"?
"Schmiede" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,401 in our German list, against #24,494 for "Scheide". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Scheide" and "Schmiede" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Scheide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schmiede" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,465,833 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Scheide" and "Schmiede" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Scheide vs schulde". 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 #1,465,833 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list