Which to use
“scheren” is a verb and “scheue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,054
- “scheren” frequency rank
- #42,110
- “scheue” frequency rank
- 60164
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scheren | scheue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit einer Schere oder ähnlichem Gerät entfernen, etwas mit einer Schere oder ähnlichem Gerät von etwas befreien | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs scheu |
Where the eye mixes scheren and scheue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between scheren and scheue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: scheren is [ˈʃeːʁən] while scheue is [ˈʃɔɪ̯ə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60164, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scheren is recorded at frequency rank #18,054, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃeːʁən]. scheue is at rank #42,110, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃɔɪ̯ə].
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 60164, this pair ranks #797,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scheren vs scheue
Shared letters: cehs. Private to "scheren": nr. Private to "scheue": u.
"scheren" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC · "scheue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scheren" for "scheue" ever safe?
Which is more common, "scheren" or "scheue"?
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 "scheren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scheue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #797,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scheren" and "scheue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "scheue vs schiere". 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 #797,118 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.