scherenvsschürenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,054
“scheren” frequency rank
#22,135
“schüren” frequency rank
40189
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature scheren schüren
Definition etwas mit einer Schere oder ähnlichem Gerät entfernen, etwas mit einer Schere oder ähnlichem Gerät von etwas befreien Feuer durch Herumstochern anfachen

Where the eye mixes scheren and schüren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
scheren
7 ch
schüren

Look-alike desk: scheren vs schüren

A purely visual mix-up. scheren ([ˈʃeːʁən]) and schüren ([ˈʃyːʁən]) 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 a single letter - e in “scheren” becomes ü in “schüren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40189, 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]. schüren is at rank #22,135, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃyːʁən].

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 40189, this pair ranks #1,515,594 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of scheren vs schüren

Shared letters: cehnrs. Private to "scheren": -. Private to "schüren": ü.

"scheren" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC  ·  "schüren" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • scherencsheren · sccheren · scehren · scheern · scherenn · scherne · scherren · schheren

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "scheren" for "schüren" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃeːʁən] versus [ˈʃyːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "scheren" or "schüren"?
"scheren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,054 in our German list, against #22,135 for "schüren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "scheren" and "schüren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "scheren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schüren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,515,594 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "scheren" and "schüren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schüren vs Schurke". 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 #1,515,594 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