Which to use
“sehr” is a particle and “sha” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #81
- “sehr” frequency rank
- #40,842
- “sha” frequency rank
- 40923
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sehr | sha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in hohem Maße, besonders | eine Flüssigkeit aufnehmen; trinken |
Where the eye mixes sehr and sha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sehr with sha
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sehr is [zeːɐ̯] while sha is [ʃáː]. 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 (particle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40923, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sehr is recorded at frequency rank #81, classified as aparticle, pronounced [zeːɐ̯]. sha is at rank #40,842, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃáː].
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 40923, this pair ranks #1,494,425 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sehr vs sha
Shared letters: hs. Private to "sehr": er. Private to "sha": a.
"sehr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sha" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sehr ← eshr · sehhr · sehrr · serh · sher · ssehr
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sehr" and "sha" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sehr" vs "sha" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sehr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,494,425 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sehr" and "sha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs sha". 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 #1,494,425 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.