SchmierevsschmierenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schmiere is a noun, schmieren is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schmiere” is a noun and “schmieren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,457
“Schmiere” frequency rank
#24,499
“schmieren” frequency rank
72956
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schmiere schmieren
Definition ölige, fetthaltige Substanz, besonders Schmiermittel und Schuhcreme etwas mit etwas bestreichen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schmiere and schmieren apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Schmiere
9 ch
schmieren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schmiere is [ˈʃmiːʁə] while schmieren is [ˈʃmiːʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Schmiere” sits inside “schmieren”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72956, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schmiere is recorded at frequency rank #48,457, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃmiːʁə]. 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 72956, this pair ranks #373,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Schmiere vs schmieren

Shared letters: cehimrs. Private to "Schmiere": -. Private to "schmieren": n.

"Schmiere" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVCV  ·  "schmieren" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schmierecshmiere · scchmiere · schhmiere · schimere · schmeire · schmieer · schmierre · schmiree
  • schmierencshmieren · scchmieren · schhmieren · schimeren · schmeiren · schmieern · schmierenn · schmierne

Frequency comparison

Schmiere#48,457
schmieren#24,499

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schmiere" and "schmieren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schmiere" is a noun and "schmieren" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schmiere" or "schmieren"?
"schmieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,499 in our German list, against #48,457 for "Schmiere". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schmiere vs schmieren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schmiere”; for a verb, it's “schmieren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schmiere” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list