schämtvsSchauWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schämt is a verb, Schau is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schämt” is a verb and “Schau” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,884
“schämt” frequency rank
#976
“Schau” frequency rank
23860
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schämt Schau
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schämen thematisch organisierte öffentliche Ausstellung

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schämt and Schau apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
schämt
5 ch
Schau

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schämt is [ʃɛːmt] while Schau is [ʃaʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schämt is recorded at frequency rank #22,884, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃɛːmt]. 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 23860, this pair ranks #1,855,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schämt vs Schau

Shared letters: chs. Private to "schämt": mtä. Private to "Schau": au.

"schämt" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Schau" · 5 letters · shape CCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schaucshau · scahu · scchau · schhau · schua · shcau · sschau

Frequency comparison

schämt#22,884
Schau#976

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schämt" and "Schau" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schämt" is a verb and "Schau" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schämt" or "Schau"?
"Schau" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #976 in our German list, against #22,884 for "schämt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering schämt vs Schau

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schämt”; for a noun, it's “Schau”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schämt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list