Which to use
“schmelze” and “schmelzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,009
- “schmelze” frequency rank
- #14,923
- “schmelzen” frequency rank
- 50932
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schmelze | schmelzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schmelzen | flüssig werden, vom festen in den flüssigen Aggregatzustand übergehen |
Where the eye mixes schmelze and schmelzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schmelze vs schmelzen
A purely visual mix-up. schmelze ([ˈʃmɛlt͡sə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “schmelze” sits inside “schmelzen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schmelze is recorded at frequency rank #36,009, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmɛlt͡sə]. 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 50932, this pair ranks #1,154,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schmelze vs schmelzen
Shared letters: cehlmsz. Private to "schmelze": -. Private to "schmelzen": n.
"schmelze" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV · "schmelzen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schmelze" and "schmelzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schmelze" vs "schmelzen" - which ranks higher?
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 "schmelze" 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 #1,154,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schmelze" and "schmelzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiele vs schmelze". 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 #1,154,881 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.