schauenvsScheunenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#958
“schauen” frequency rank
#42,786
“Scheunen” frequency rank
43744
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schauen Scheunen
Definition mehr aktiv als passiv mit den Augen wahrnehmen (also oft willentlich, aus eigenem Bestreben heraus/ durch eigenes Zutun herbeigeführt) Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Scheune

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schauen and Scheunen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
schauen
8 ch
Scheunen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schauen is [ˈʃaʊ̯ən] while Scheunen is [ˈʃɔɪ̯nən]. 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 43744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schauen is recorded at frequency rank #958, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaʊ̯ən]. Scheunen is at rank #42,786, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɔɪ̯nən].

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 43744, this pair ranks #1,408,316 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schauen vs Scheunen

Shared letters: cehnsu. Private to "schauen": a. Private to "Scheunen": -.

"schauen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVVC  ·  "Scheunen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schauencshauen · scahuen · scchauen · schaeun · schauenn · schaune · schhauen · schuaen
  • Scheunencsheunen · sccheunen · scehunen · schenuen · scheunenn · scheunnen · schheunen · schuenen

Frequency comparison

schauen#958
Scheunen#42,786

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schauen" and "Scheunen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schauen" is a verb and "Scheunen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schauen" or "Scheunen"?
"schauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #958 in our German list, against #42,786 for "Scheunen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering schauen vs Scheunen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schauen”; for a noun, it's “Scheunen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schauen” 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