schmorenvsschobenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,391
“schmoren” frequency rank
#44,203
“schoben” frequency rank
82594
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schmoren schoben
Definition Fleisch anbraten und dann in einem Topf langsam garen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schieben

Where the eye mixes schmoren and schoben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schmoren runs 8 letters (CCCCVCVC) against schoben's 7 (CCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
schmoren
7 ch
schoben

Visual trap between schmoren and schoben

A purely visual mix-up. schmoren ([ˈʃmoːʁən]) and schoben ([ˈʃoːbn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schmoren is recorded at frequency rank #38,391, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmoːʁən]. schoben is at rank #44,203, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃoːbn̩].

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 82594, this pair ranks #154,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schmoren vs schoben

Shared letters: cehnos. Private to "schmoren": mr. Private to "schoben": b.

"schmoren" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC  ·  "schoben" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schmoren ← cshmoren · scchmoren · schhmoren · schmmoren · schmoern · schmorenn · schmorne · schmorren
  • schoben ← cshoben · scchoben · schboen · schhoben · schobben · schobenn · schobne · schoebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schmoren" and "schoben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃmoːʁən] versus [ˈʃoːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "schmoren" or "schoben" show up more?
"schmoren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,391 in our German list, against #44,203 for "schoben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "schmoren" and "schoben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schmoren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schoben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #154,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schmoren" and "schoben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schoben vs schrien". 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 #154,442 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