schälen

[ˈʃɛːlən]

/[ˈʃɛːlən]/ verb

The verdict

“schälen” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #27,485 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#27,485
frequency rank, German
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

schälen vs Schule
57% similar
schälen vs schien
71% similar
schälen vs schaue
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for schälen
PropertyValue
Headwordschälen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʃɛːlən]
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,485
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “schälen” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). schälen lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for schälen is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʃɛːlən]. Corpus data places it at rank #27,485 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for schälen, with forms such as "cshälen", "scchälen", and "schhälen". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Schule", "schien", "schaue", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is schälen, spelled S-C-H-Ä-L-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cshälen,scchälen,schhälen,schläen,schäeln,schälenn,schällen,schälne,scählen,shcälen,sschälen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of schälen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

cshälen2scchälen1schhälen1schläen2schäeln2schälenn1schällen1schälne2
Edit distance from "schälen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "schälen"?
"schälen" is spelled S-C-H-Ä-L-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃɛːlən].
What does "schälen" mean?
As a verb, "schälen" means: etwas von einer Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle befreien; eine Schale, Haut, Hülle, Pelle beseitigen, entfernen
What words are commonly confused with "schälen"?
"schälen" is commonly confused with "Schule", "schien", "schaue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "schälen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schälen" is [ˈʃɛːlən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schälen" come from?
"schälen" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “schälen”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is S-C-H-Ä-L-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈʃɛːlən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Schule” - see the side-by-side comparison. schälen vs Schule
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list