Which to use
“Schelm” and “schema” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,753
- “Schelm” frequency rank
- #10,556
- “schema” frequency rank
- 43309
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schelm | schema |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mensch, der gerne scherzt und neckt | das Schema, der Plan |
Where the eye mixes Schelm and schema
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Schelm and schema
A purely visual mix-up. Schelm ([ʃɛlm]) and schema ([ˈskɛːma]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schelm is recorded at frequency rank #32,753, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃɛlm]. schema is at rank #10,556, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈskɛːma].
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 43309, this pair ranks #1,422,095 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Schelm vs schema
Shared letters: cehms. Private to "Schelm": l. Private to "schema": a.
"Schelm" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "schema" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schelm" for "schema" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Schelm" or "schema"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Schelm" and "schema" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schelm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schema" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,422,095 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schelm" and "schema" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schalk vs Schelm". 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 #1,422,095 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.