schervsschiebTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,007
“scher” frequency rank
#31,258
“schieb” frequency rank
67265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature scher schieb
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs scheren 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schieben

Where the eye mixes scher and schieb

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. scher runs 5 letters (CCCVC) against schieb's 6 (CCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
scher
6 ch
schieb

Visual trap between scher and schieb

A purely visual mix-up. scher ([ʃeːɐ̯]) and schieb ([ʃiːp]) 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 67265, 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]. schieb is at rank #31,258, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃiːp].

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 67265, this pair ranks #545,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of scher vs schieb

Shared letters: cehs. Private to "scher": r. Private to "schieb": bi.

"scher" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC  ·  "schieb" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • scher ← csher · sccher · scehr · scherr · schher · schre · shcer · sscher
  • schieb ← cshieb · scchieb · scheib · schhieb · schibe · schiebb · sciheb · shcieb

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "scher" and "schieb" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃeːɐ̯] versus [ʃiːp]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "scher" vs "schieb" - which ranks higher?
"schieb" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,258 in our German list, against #36,007 for "scher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "scher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schieb" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #545,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "scher" and "schieb" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sacher vs scher". 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 #545,804 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