scharf
\ʃarf\
The verdict
“scharf” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tranchant, coupant, acéré pour une lame.
Corpus desk
Index FR-scharf · scharf · French
scharf · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scharf |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ʃarf\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « scharf » en français
Rare enough to double-check
scharf is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ʃarf\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 12 senses are on record.
scharf has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is scharf, spelled S-C-H-A-R-F.
Definition
- 1Tranchant, coupant, acéré pour une lame.
- 2Aigu, pointu, pour un accent.
- 3Sévère, strict, drastique, acerbe, pour un individu.
- 4Vif pour un arête, un angle.
- 5Épicé, piquant.
- 6Serré pour une courbe, un virage.
- 7Brusque, pour un freinage.
- 8Net, qui a un contour précis, qui n’est pas confus ou brouillé.
- 9Agressif, méchant.
- 10À balles réelles, amorcée
- 11Perçant, pénétrant, fin.
- 12Précis, rigoureux.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how scharf appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Er hatte die ein wenig tief liegenden, blauen und aufmerksamen Augen seines Vaters, wenn ihr Ausdruck auch vielleicht träumerischer war; aber seine Gesichtszüge waren ernster und schärfer, seine Nase sprang stark und gebogen hervor, (...)
Er aber, der Steppenwolf, hatte seinen scharfen kurzhaarigen Kopf witternd in die Höhe gereckt, schnupperte mit der nervösen Nase um sich her und sagte, noch ehe er Antwort gab oder seinen Namen nannte: „Oh, hier riecht es gut."
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.