scharf
German, adjective/ʃarf/
scharf is spelled S-C-H-A-R-F (6 letters) and appears 27 times per million words in written German, the 3,035th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Scharf is a German adjective meaning “sharp; able to cut (of a knife, edge)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “fähig, etwas zu (zer)schneiden oder zu stechen”.
What does scharf mean in English?
adjective
- 1
sharp; able to cut (of a knife, edge)
- 2
sharp; tight (of a turn on a route)
- 3
sharp; discerning (of perception, intellect, mind)
- 4
sharp; severe; harsh (of criticism, attacks, glances)
- 5
in focus (of a picture, video)
- 6
hot; spicy; pungent (of food)
- 7
informalkeen on; excited for; strongly looking forward to
- 8
colloquialhot; sexy; attractive
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. fähig, etwas zu (zer)schneiden oder zu stechen 2. spitz, mit spitzem Winkel 3. sehr eng, mit starker Beugung/Richtungsänderung 4. deutlich konturiert, mit klarem Umriss
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of scharf
- scharfer masculine nominative singular
- schärfer comparative
- am schärfsten superlative
- scharfe feminine nominative singular
- scharfes neuter nominative singular
- scharfen genitive masculine singular
- scharfem dative masculine singular
- der scharfe definite includes-article masculine
- die scharfe definite feminine includes-article
- das scharfe definite includes-article neuter
- die scharfen definite includes-article nominative
- des scharfen definite genitive includes-article
- der scharfen definite feminine genitive
- dem scharfen dative definite includes-article
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce scharf?
- /ʃarf/
- [ʃaʁf]
- [ʃaɾf]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to scharf
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is scharf in German?
scharf appears 27 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).