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 eye mixes schämt and Schau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. schämt runs 6 letters (CCCVCC) against Schau's 5 (CCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: schämt vs Schau
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
- Schau ← cshau · scahu · scchau · schhau · schua · shcau · sschau
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schämt" for "Schau" ever safe?
Which is more common, "schämt" or "Schau"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schämt" 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 #1,855,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schämt" and "Schau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schämt vs schütt". 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 #1,855,641 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.