Which to use
“schmale” is an adjective and “Scholle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,358
- “schmale” frequency rank
- #41,452
- “Scholle” frequency rank
- 51810
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schmale | Scholle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schmal | in allen Meeren verbreiteter, oft als Speisefisch genutzter Plattfisch mit stark abgeplattetem ovalem Körper, der an der Oberseite olivgrün bis dunkelbraun gefleckt und an der Unterseite weiß ist |
Where the eye mixes schmale and Scholle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. schmale (CCCCVCV) and Scholle (CCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses schmale with Scholle
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schmale is [ˈʃmaːlə] while Scholle is [ˈʃɔlə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schmale is recorded at frequency rank #10,358, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃmaːlə]. Scholle is at rank #41,452, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɔlə].
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 51810, this pair ranks #1,121,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schmale vs Scholle
Shared letters: cehls. Private to "schmale": am. Private to "Scholle": o.
"schmale" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV · "Scholle" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schmale" and "Scholle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schmale" or "Scholle"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schmale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Scholle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,121,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schmale" and "Scholle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Scholle vs schrille". 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 #1,121,155 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.