ScheervsscheueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Scheer is a name, scheue is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Scheer” is a name and “scheue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,349
“Scheer” frequency rank
#42,110
“scheue” frequency rank
76459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Scheer scheue
Definition eine Stadt in Baden-Württemberg, Deutschland Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs scheu

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Scheer and scheue apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Scheer
6 ch
scheue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Scheer is [ʃeːɐ̯] while scheue is [ˈʃɔɪ̯ə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Scheer is recorded at frequency rank #34,349, classified as aname, pronounced [ʃeːɐ̯]. scheue is at rank #42,110, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃɔɪ̯ə].

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 76459, this pair ranks #283,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Scheer vs scheue

Shared letters: cehs. Private to "Scheer": r. Private to "scheue": u.

"Scheer" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVC  ·  "scheue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Scheercsheer · sccheer · sceher · schheer · shceer · sscheer
  • scheuecsheue · sccheue · scehue · scheeu · schheue · schuee · shceue · sscheue

Frequency comparison

Scheer#34,349
scheue#42,110

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Scheer" and "scheue" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Scheer" is a name and "scheue" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Scheer" or "scheue"?
"Scheer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,349 in our German list, against #42,110 for "scheue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Scheer vs scheue

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Scheer”; for an adjective, it's “scheue”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Scheer” 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