ScheidevsSchenkeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Scheide” and “Schenke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,494
“Scheide” frequency rank
#17,713
“Schenke” frequency rank
42207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Scheide Schenke
Definition Transport- oder Aufbewahrungsbehälter für Hieb- und Stichwaffen kleiner Alkohol-Ausschank-Betrieb

Where the eye mixes Scheide and Schenke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Scheide (CCCVVCV) and Schenke (CCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Scheide
7 ch
Schenke

Look-alike desk: Scheide vs Schenke

A purely visual mix-up. Scheide ([ˈʃaɪ̯də]) and Schenke ([ˈʃɛŋkə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Scheide is recorded at frequency rank #24,494, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯də]. Schenke is at rank #17,713, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛŋkə].

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 42207, this pair ranks #1,456,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Scheide vs Schenke

Shared letters: cehs. Private to "Scheide": di. Private to "Schenke": kn.

"Scheide" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCV  ·  "Schenke" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Scheide ← csheide · sccheide · scehide · schedie · scheidde · scheied · schheide · schiede
  • Schenke ← cshenke · scchenke · scehnke · schekne · schenek · schenkke · schennke · schhenke

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Scheide" for "Schenke" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaɪ̯də] versus [ˈʃɛŋkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Scheide" or "Schenke"?
"Schenke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,713 in our German list, against #24,494 for "Scheide". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Scheide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schenke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,456,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Scheide" and "Schenke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Scheide vs schulde". 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 #1,456,403 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list