Which to use
“schade” and “scheue” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,431
- “schade” frequency rank
- #42,110
- “scheue” frequency rank
- 43541
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schade | scheue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu bedauern, nicht erfreulich (seiend); traurig stimmend; zum Leidwesen, Schaden (seiend) | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs scheu |
Where the eye mixes schade and scheue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schade with scheue
A purely visual mix-up. schade ([ˈʃaːdə]) and scheue ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ə]) 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 43541, 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]. scheue is at rank #42,110, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃɔɪ̯ə].
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 43541, this pair ranks #1,414,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schade vs scheue
Shared letters: cehs. Private to "schade": ad. Private to "scheue": u.
"schade" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "scheue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schade" and "scheue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schade" or "scheue"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scheue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,414,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schade" and "scheue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "scheue vs schiere". 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 #1,414,857 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.