Which to use
“schmalen” and “schmales” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,086
- “schmalen” frequency rank
- #39,617
- “schmales” frequency rank
- 48703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schmalen | schmales |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schmal | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schmal |
Where the eye mixes schmalen and schmales
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schmalen and schmales follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses schmalen with schmales
A purely visual mix-up. schmalen ([ˈʃmaːlən]) and schmales ([ˈʃmaːləs]) 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 - n in “schmalen” becomes s in “schmales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schmalen is recorded at frequency rank #9,086, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃmaːlən]. schmales is at rank #39,617, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃmaːləs].
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 48703, this pair ranks #1,238,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schmalen vs schmales
Shared letters: acehlms. Private to "schmalen": n. Private to "schmales": -.
"schmalen" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC · "schmales" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schmalen" and "schmales" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schmalen" or "schmales" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schmalen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schmales" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,238,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schmalen" and "schmales" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schmales vs schwules". 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 #1,238,770 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.