SchirmevsSchurkeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Schirme” and “Schurke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,960
“Schirme” frequency rank
#49,237
“Schurke” frequency rank
96197
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schirme Schurke
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schirm jemand, der moralisch verwerflich handelt

Where the eye mixes Schirme and Schurke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schirme and Schurke follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Schirme
7 ch
Schurke

Visual trap between Schirme and Schurke

A purely visual mix-up. Schirme ([ˈʃɪʁmə]) and Schurke ([ˈʃʊʁkə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schirme is recorded at frequency rank #46,960, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪʁmə]. Schurke is at rank #49,237, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊʁkə].

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 96197, this pair ranks #8,274 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Schirme vs Schurke

Shared letters: cehrs. Private to "Schirme": im. Private to "Schurke": ku.

"Schirme" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schurke" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schirmecshirme · scchirme · schhirme · schimre · schirem · schirmme · schirrme · schrime
  • Schurkecshurke · scchurke · schhurke · schruke · schukre · schurek · schurkke · schurrke

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schirme" and "Schurke" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɪʁmə] versus [ˈʃʊʁkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schirme" vs "Schurke" - which ranks higher?
"Schirme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46,960 in our German list, against #49,237 for "Schurke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schirme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schurke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #8,274 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schirme" and "Schurke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlucke 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 #8,274 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list