Schelm

/[ʃɛlm]/ noun

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#32,753

in German word usage

Misspellings

10

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

Schelm is aGermannoun. It means: Mensch, der gerne scherzt und neckt Pronounced [ʃɛlm]. Often confused with schul and scheu.

Key facts for Schelm
PropertyValue
HeadwordSchelm
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ʃɛlm]
Letters6
Frequency rank#32,753
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Schelm in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Schelm is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ʃɛlm]. Corpus data places it at rank #32,753 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for Schelm, with forms such as "cshelm", "scchelm", and "scehlm". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "schul", "scheu", "scher", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is Schelm, spelled S-C-H-E-L-M, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mensch, der gerne scherzt und neckt
  2. 2
    durchtriebener, unehrlicher Mensch

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cshelm,scchelm,scehlm,schellm,schelmm,scheml,schhelm,schlem,shcelm,sschelm

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Schelm

Misspelling Variants of "Schelm"

cshelm6scchelm7scehlm6schellm7schelmm7scheml6schhelm7schlem6
Misspelling Variants of "Schelm"

Frequency rank: #32,753 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Schelm"?
"Schelm" is spelled S-C-H-E-L-M. The IPA pronunciation is [ʃɛlm].
What does "Schelm" mean?
As a noun, "Schelm" means: Mensch, der gerne scherzt und neckt
What words are commonly confused with "Schelm"?
"Schelm" is commonly confused with "schul", "scheu", "scher". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Schelm"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Schelm" is [ʃɛlm]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Schelm" come from?
"Schelm" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.