Which to use
“Schelm” is a noun and “schiele” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,753
- “Schelm” frequency rank
- #38,389
- “schiele” frequency rank
- 71142
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schelm | schiele |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mensch, der gerne scherzt und neckt | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schielen |
Where the eye mixes Schelm and schiele
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schelm runs 6 letters (CCCVCC) against schiele's 7 (CCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Schelm with schiele
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schelm is [ʃɛlm] while schiele is [ˈʃiːlə]. 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 71142, 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]. schiele is at rank #38,389, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃiːlə].
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 71142, this pair ranks #425,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Schelm vs schiele
Shared letters: cehls. Private to "Schelm": m. Private to "schiele": i.
"Schelm" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "schiele" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schelm" for "schiele" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Schelm" or "schiele"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schelm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schiele" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #425,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schelm" and "schiele" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiele vs Schmiere". 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 #425,415 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.