Which to use
“schmelze” is a verb and “Schmerz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,009
- “schmelze” frequency rank
- #3,482
- “Schmerz” frequency rank
- 39491
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schmelze | Schmerz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schmelzen | unangenehme Sinneswahrnehmung, die aufgrund einer äußeren Verletzung auftritt (physiologischer Schmerz) |
Where the eye mixes schmelze and Schmerz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schmelze runs 8 letters (CCCCVCCV) against Schmerz's 7 (CCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: schmelze vs Schmerz
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schmelze is [ˈʃmɛlt͡sə] while Schmerz is [ʃmɛʁt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39491, 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]. Schmerz is at rank #3,482, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃmɛʁt͡s].
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 39491, this pair ranks #1,535,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schmelze vs Schmerz
Shared letters: cehmsz. Private to "schmelze": l. Private to "Schmerz": r.
"schmelze" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV · "Schmerz" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schmelze" and "Schmerz" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "schmelze" vs "Schmerz" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "schmelze" and "Schmerz" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schmelze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schmerz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,535,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schmelze" and "Schmerz" 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 #1,535,333 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.