Which to use
“scherze” and “scherzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,110
- “scherze” frequency rank
- #33,267
- “scherzen” frequency rank
- 57377
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scherze | scherzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs scherzen | Späße machen, einen Scherz machen, es nicht ernst meinen |
Where the eye mixes scherze and scherzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. scherze runs 7 letters (CCCVCCV) against scherzen's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: scherze vs scherzen
A purely visual mix-up. scherze ([ˈʃɛʁt͡sə]) and scherzen ([ˈʃɛʁt͡sn̩]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “scherze” sits inside “scherzen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scherze is recorded at frequency rank #24,110, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁt͡sə]. scherzen is at rank #33,267, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁt͡sn̩].
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 57377, this pair ranks #903,715 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scherze vs scherzen
Shared letters: cehrsz. Private to "scherze": -. Private to "scherzen": n.
"scherze" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV · "scherzen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "scherze" and "scherzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "scherze" or "scherzen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "scherze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scherzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #903,715 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scherze" and "scherzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schellen vs scherzen". 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 #903,715 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.