ScherbenvsschiebenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Scherben is a noun, schieben is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Scherben” is a noun and “schieben” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,399
“Scherben” frequency rank
#5,529
“schieben” frequency rank
22928
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Scherben schieben
Definition gebrannter, unglasierter Ton einen Gegenstand durch mechanischen Druck bewegen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Scherben and schieben apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Scherben
8 ch
schieben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Scherben is [ˈʃɛʁbn̩] while schieben is [ˈʃiːbn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22928, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Scherben is recorded at frequency rank #17,399, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁbn̩]. schieben is at rank #5,529, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃiːbn̩].

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 22928, this pair ranks #1,867,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Scherben vs schieben

Shared letters: bcehns. Private to "Scherben": r. Private to "schieben": i.

"Scherben" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "schieben" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Scherbencsherben · sccherben · scehrben · schebren · scherbben · scherbenn · scherbne · scherebn
  • schiebencshieben · scchieben · schhieben · schibeen · schiebben · schiebenn · schiebne · schieebn

Frequency comparison

Scherben#17,399
schieben#5,529

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Scherben" and "schieben" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Scherben" is a noun and "schieben" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Scherben" or "schieben"?
"schieben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,529 in our German list, against #17,399 for "Scherben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Scherben vs schieben

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Scherben”; for a verb, it's “schieben”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Scherben” 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