schmiedenvsschmierenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,050
“schmieden” frequency rank
#24,499
“schmieren” frequency rank
44549
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schmieden schmieren
Definition Metall mit Hitze und einem Hammer bearbeiten etwas mit etwas bestreichen

Where the eye mixes schmieden and schmieren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. schmieden and schmieren follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
schmieden
9 ch
schmieren

Visual trap between schmieden and schmieren

A purely visual mix-up. schmieden ([ˈʃmiːdn̩]) and schmieren ([ˈʃmiːʁən]) 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 - d in “schmieden” becomes r in “schmieren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44549, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schmieden is recorded at frequency rank #20,050, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmiːdn̩]. schmieren is at rank #24,499, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmiːʁən].

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 44549, this pair ranks #1,382,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schmieden vs schmieren

Shared letters: cehimns. Private to "schmieden": d. Private to "schmieren": r.

"schmieden" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC  ·  "schmieren" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schmieden ← cshmieden · scchmieden · schhmieden · schimeden · schmeiden · schmideen · schmiedden · schmiedenn
  • schmieren ← cshmieren · scchmieren · schhmieren · schimeren · schmeiren · schmieern · schmierenn · schmierne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schmieden" for "schmieren" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃmiːdn̩] versus [ˈʃmiːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schmieden" or "schmieren"?
"schmieden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,050 in our German list, against #24,499 for "schmieren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schmieden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schmieren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,382,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schmieden" and "schmieren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schmiere vs schmieren". 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 #1,382,596 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