Which to use
“scher” is a verb and “Stier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,007
- “scher” frequency rank
- #13,949
- “Stier” frequency rank
- 49956
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scher | Stier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs scheren | männliches Hausrind, das geschlechtsreif ist |
Where the eye mixes scher and Stier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses scher with Stier
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: scher is [ʃeːɐ̯] while Stier is [ʃtiːɐ̯]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49956, 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]. Stier is at rank #13,949, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtiːɐ̯].
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 49956, this pair ranks #1,192,083 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scher vs Stier
Shared letters: ers. Private to "scher": ch. Private to "Stier": it.
"scher" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "Stier" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scher" for "Stier" ever safe?
Frequency check: "scher" vs "Stier" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "Stier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,192,083 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scher" and "Stier" 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 #1,192,083 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.