Which to use
“sauer” is an adjective and “scher” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,769
- “sauer” frequency rank
- #36,007
- “scher” frequency rank
- 39776
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sauer | scher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nach der grundlegende Geschmacksrichtung, die unreifem Obst, gestockter Milch, unter Luftabschluss vergorenem Kohl und durch Essigmutter zu Essig umgesetztem Alkohol gemeinsam ist kommend | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs scheren |
Where the eye mixes sauer and scher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sauer vs scher
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sauer is [ˈzaʊ̯ɐ] while scher is [ʃeːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sauer is recorded at frequency rank #3,769, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzaʊ̯ɐ]. scher is at rank #36,007, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃeːɐ̯].
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 39776, this pair ranks #1,527,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sauer vs scher
Shared letters: ers. Private to "sauer": au. Private to "scher": ch.
"sauer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "scher" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sauer" for "scher" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "sauer" or "scher" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sauer" and "scher" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sauer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,527,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sauer" and "scher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sacher vs scher". 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 #1,527,237 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.