SchellevsschmelzeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schelle is a noun, schmelze is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schelle” is a noun and “schmelze” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,609
“Schelle” frequency rank
#36,009
“schmelze” frequency rank
72618
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schelle schmelze
Definition Glocke 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schmelzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schelle and schmelze apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Schelle
8 ch
schmelze

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schelle is [ˈʃɛlə] while schmelze is [ˈʃmɛlt͡sə]. 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 72618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schelle is recorded at frequency rank #36,609, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛlə]. schmelze is at rank #36,009, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmɛlt͡sə].

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 72618, this pair ranks #383,272 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Schelle vs schmelze

Shared letters: cehls. Private to "Schelle": -. Private to "schmelze": mz.

"Schelle" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "schmelze" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schellecshelle · scchelle · scehlle · schelel · schhelle · schlele · shcelle · sschelle
  • schmelzecshmelze · scchmelze · schemlze · schhmelze · schmelez · schmellze · schmelzze · schmezle

Frequency comparison

Schelle#36,609
schmelze#36,009

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schelle" and "schmelze" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schelle" is a noun and "schmelze" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schelle" or "schmelze"?
"schmelze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,009 in our German list, against #36,609 for "Schelle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schelle vs schmelze

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schelle”; for a verb, it's “schmelze”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schelle” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list