Which to use
“scher” is a verb and “scheu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,007
- “scher” frequency rank
- #15,198
- “scheu” frequency rank
- 51205
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scher | scheu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs scheren | aus Angst, Unbehagen oder Scham zurückhaltend und soziale Kontakte vermeidend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set scher and scheu apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
scher and scheu form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - r in “scher” becomes u in “scheu” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51205, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scher is recorded at frequency rank #36,007, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃeːɐ̯]. 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 51205, this pair ranks #1,144,443 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "scher" and "scheu" be used interchangeably?
Remembering scher vs scheu
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “scher”; for an adjective, it's “scheu”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “scher” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable