Which to use
“schaue” and “scheu” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,228
- “schaue” frequency rank
- #15,198
- “scheu” frequency rank
- 19426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schaue | scheu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schau | aus Angst, Unbehagen oder Scham zurückhaltend und soziale Kontakte vermeidend |
Where the eye mixes schaue and scheu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schaue and scheu
A purely visual mix-up. schaue ([ʃaʊ̯ə]) and scheu ([ʃɔɪ̯]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schaue is recorded at frequency rank #4,228, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃaʊ̯ə]. scheu is at rank #15,198, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃɔɪ̯].
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 19426, this pair ranks #1,908,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schaue vs scheu
Shared letters: cehsu. Private to "schaue": a. Private to "scheu": -.
"schaue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV · "scheu" · 5 letters · shape CCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schaue" and "scheu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schaue" vs "scheu" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schaue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scheu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,908,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schaue" and "scheu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sacher vs scheu". 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 #1,908,452 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.