geschämtvsgescheutWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“geschämt” and “gescheut” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,854
“geschämt” frequency rank
#43,915
“gescheut” frequency rank
85769
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geschämt gescheut
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs schämen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs scheuen

Where the eye mixes geschämt and gescheut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
geschämt
8 ch
gescheut

Look-alike desk: geschämt vs gescheut

A purely visual mix-up. geschämt ([ɡəˈʃɛːmt]) and gescheut ([ɡəˈʃɔɪ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geschämt is recorded at frequency rank #41,854, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃɛːmt]. gescheut is at rank #43,915, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃɔɪ̯t].

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 85769, this pair ranks #103,400 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of geschämt vs gescheut

Shared letters: ceghst. Private to "geschämt": . Private to "gescheut": u.

"geschämt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "gescheut" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gescheutegscheut · gecsheut · gesccheut · gescehut · geschetu · gescheutt · geschheut · geschuet

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "geschämt" and "gescheut" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʃɛːmt] versus [ɡəˈʃɔɪ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "geschämt" or "gescheut"?
"geschämt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,854 in our German list, against #43,915 for "gescheut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "geschämt" and "gescheut" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "geschämt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gescheut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #103,400 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geschämt" and "gescheut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gescheut vs geschneit". 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 #103,400 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list