Which to use
“scherzen” and “schmelzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,267
- “scherzen” frequency rank
- #14,923
- “schmelzen” frequency rank
- 48190
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scherzen | schmelzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Späße machen, einen Scherz machen, es nicht ernst meinen | flüssig werden, vom festen in den flüssigen Aggregatzustand übergehen |
Where the eye mixes scherzen and schmelzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: scherzen vs schmelzen
A purely visual mix-up. scherzen ([ˈʃɛʁt͡sn̩]) and schmelzen ([ˈʃmɛlt͡sn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scherzen is recorded at frequency rank #33,267, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁt͡sn̩]. schmelzen is at rank #14,923, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmɛlt͡sn̩].
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 48190, this pair ranks #1,257,605 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scherzen vs schmelzen
Shared letters: cehnsz. Private to "scherzen": r. Private to "schmelzen": lm.
"scherzen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "schmelzen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "scherzen" and "schmelzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "scherzen" vs "schmelzen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "scherzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schmelzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,257,605 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scherzen" and "schmelzen" 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 #1,257,605 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.