Which to use
“Scherben” and “Schergen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,399
- “Scherben” frequency rank
- #38,388
- “Schergen” frequency rank
- 55787
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Scherben | Schergen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gebrannter, unglasierter Ton | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Scherge |
Where the eye mixes Scherben and Schergen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Scherben and Schergen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Scherben and Schergen
A purely visual mix-up. Scherben ([ˈʃɛʁbn̩]) and Schergen ([ˈʃɛʁɡn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “Scherben” becomes g in “Schergen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Scherben is recorded at frequency rank #17,399, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁbn̩]. Schergen is at rank #38,388, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁɡn̩].
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 55787, this pair ranks #965,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Scherben vs Schergen
Shared letters: cehnrs. Private to "Scherben": b. Private to "Schergen": g.
"Scherben" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "Schergen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Scherben" and "Schergen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Scherben" or "Schergen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Scherben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schergen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #965,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Scherben" and "Schergen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schellen vs Schergen". 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 #965,776 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.