Which to use
“scherzen” and “scheuen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,267
- “scherzen” frequency rank
- #18,380
- “scheuen” frequency rank
- 51647
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scherzen | scheuen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Späße machen, einen Scherz machen, es nicht ernst meinen | etwas (häufig aus Angst) vermeiden oder meiden |
Where the eye mixes scherzen and scheuen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. scherzen runs 8 letters (CCCVCCVC) against scheuen's 7 (CCCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between scherzen and scheuen
A purely visual mix-up. scherzen ([ˈʃɛʁt͡sn̩]) and scheuen ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ən]) 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 51647, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scherzen is recorded at frequency rank #33,267, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛʁt͡sn̩]. scheuen is at rank #18,380, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɔɪ̯ən].
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 51647, this pair ranks #1,127,565 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scherzen vs scheuen
Shared letters: cehns. Private to "scherzen": rz. Private to "scheuen": u.
"scherzen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "scheuen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "scherzen" and "scheuen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "scherzen" vs "scheuen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "scherzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scheuen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,127,565 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scherzen" and "scheuen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schellen vs scherzen". 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 #1,127,565 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.