Which to use
“Scheitel” is a noun and “scheitern” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,797
- “Scheitel” frequency rank
- #4,229
- “scheitern” frequency rank
- 38026
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Scheitel | scheitern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Linie in der Frisur, entlang derer sich die Haare in unterschiedliche Richtung legen | etwas nicht erreichen, das man erreichen will |
Where the eye mixes Scheitel and scheitern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Scheitel vs scheitern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Scheitel is [ˈʃaɪ̯tl̩] while scheitern is [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐn]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Scheitel is recorded at frequency rank #33,797, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯tl̩]. scheitern is at rank #4,229, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐn].
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 38026, this pair ranks #1,574,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Scheitel vs scheitern
Shared letters: cehist. Private to "Scheitel": l. Private to "scheitern": nr.
"Scheitel" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC · "scheitern" · 9 letters · shape CCCVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Scheitel" and "scheitern" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Scheitel" or "scheitern" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Scheitel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scheitern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,574,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Scheitel" and "scheitern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Scheitel vs Schiiten". 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 #1,574,783 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.