Which to use
“Scham” and “Schau” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,373
- “Scham” frequency rank
- #976
- “Schau” frequency rank
- 13349
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Scham | Schau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | angstbesetztes Empfinden, das meist durch eigenes und von anderen beobachtbares Fehlverhalten ausgelöst wird, durch das man deren Achtung zu verlieren droht | thematisch organisierte öffentliche Ausstellung |
Where the eye mixes Scham and Schau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Scham (CCCVC) and Schau (CCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Scham and Schau
A purely visual mix-up. Scham ([ʃaːm]) and Schau ([ʃaʊ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - m in “Scham” becomes u in “Schau”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13349, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Scham is recorded at frequency rank #12,373, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃaːm]. Schau is at rank #976, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃaʊ̯].
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 13349, this pair ranks #1,958,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Scham vs Schau
Shared letters: achs. Private to "Scham": m. Private to "Schau": u.
"Scham" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "Schau" · 5 letters · shape CCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Scham" for "Schau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Scham" vs "Schau" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Scham" and "Schau" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Scham" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Scham" and "Schau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Scham vs Sesam". 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 #1,958,552 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.