Which to use
“Schere” and “Scherz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,742
- “Schere” frequency rank
- #5,876
- “Scherz” frequency rank
- 16618
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schere | Scherz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gerät zum Schneiden von Papier und anderer dünner Materialien | nicht ernst zu Nehmendes |
Where the eye mixes Schere and Scherz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Schere with Scherz
A purely visual mix-up. Schere ([ˈʃeːʁə]) and Scherz ([ʃɛʁt͡s]) 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 - e in “Schere” becomes z in “Scherz”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schere is recorded at frequency rank #10,742, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃeːʁə]. Scherz is at rank #5,876, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃɛʁt͡s].
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 16618, this pair ranks #1,934,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schere vs Scherz
Shared letters: cehrs. Private to "Schere": -. Private to "Scherz": z.
"Schere" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "Scherz" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Schere" and "Scherz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Schere" vs "Scherz" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Scherz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,934,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schere" and "Scherz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schere vs Schurke". 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 #1,934,361 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.