Which to use
“scheue” is an adjective and “schwebe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,110
- “scheue” frequency rank
- #33,281
- “schwebe” frequency rank
- 75391
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scheue | schwebe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs scheu | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schweben |
Where the eye mixes scheue and schwebe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. scheue runs 6 letters (CCCVVV) against schwebe's 7 (CCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: scheue vs schwebe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: scheue is [ˈʃɔɪ̯ə] while schwebe is [ˈʃveːbə]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scheue is recorded at frequency rank #42,110, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃɔɪ̯ə]. schwebe is at rank #33,281, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃveːbə].
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 75391, this pair ranks #309,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of scheue vs schwebe
Shared letters: cehs. Private to "scheue": u. Private to "schwebe": bw.
"scheue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV · "schwebe" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scheue" for "schwebe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "scheue" vs "schwebe" - which ranks higher?
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 "scheue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwebe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #309,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scheue" and "schwebe" 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 #309,179 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.