Which to use
“schade” is an adjective and “schaut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,431
- “schade” frequency rank
- #1,818
- “schaut” frequency rank
- 3249
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schade | schaut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu bedauern, nicht erfreulich (seiend); traurig stimmend; zum Leidwesen, Schaden (seiend) | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schauen |
Where the eye mixes schade and schaut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schade and schaut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schade is [ˈʃaːdə] while schaut is [ʃaʊ̯t]. 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 3249, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schade is recorded at frequency rank #1,431, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃaːdə]. schaut is at rank #1,818, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃaʊ̯t].
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 3249, this pair ranks #2,000,620 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schade vs schaut
Shared letters: achs. Private to "schade": de. Private to "schaut": tu.
"schade" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "schaut" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schade" for "schaut" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schade" vs "schaut" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "schade" and "schaut" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schaut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,000,620 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schade" and "schaut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schade vs Schädels". 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 #2,000,620 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.