Which to use
“scheue” and “schwere” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,110
- “scheue” frequency rank
- #1,988
- “schwere” frequency rank
- 44098
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scheue | schwere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs scheu | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schwer |
Where the eye mixes scheue and schwere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. scheue runs 6 letters (CCCVVV) against schwere's 7 (CCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses scheue with schwere
A purely visual mix-up. scheue ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ə]) and schwere ([ˈʃveːʁə]) 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 44098, 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]. schwere is at rank #1,988, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːʁə].
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 44098, this pair ranks #1,397,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scheue vs schwere
Shared letters: cehs. Private to "scheue": u. Private to "schwere": rw.
"scheue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV · "schwere" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scheue" for "schwere" ever safe?
Frequency check: "scheue" vs "schwere" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "scheue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schwere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,397,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scheue" and "schwere" 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 #1,397,120 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.