scheuevsschwulWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,110
“scheue” frequency rank
#5,305
“schwul” frequency rank
47415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature scheue schwul
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs scheu als Mann homosexuelle Neigungen besitzend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set scheue and schwul apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
scheue
6 ch
schwul

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. scheue ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ə]) and schwul ([ʃvuːl]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47415, 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]. schwul is at rank #5,305, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃvuːl].

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 47415, this pair ranks #1,285,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of scheue vs schwul

Shared letters: chsu. Private to "scheue": e. Private to "schwul": lw.

"scheue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV  ·  "schwul" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • scheuecsheue · sccheue · scehue · scheeu · schheue · schuee · shceue · sscheue
  • schwulcshwul · scchwul · schhwul · schuwl · schwlu · schwull · schwwul · scwhul

Frequency comparison

scheue#42,110
schwul#5,305

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "scheue" and "schwul" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ə] versus [ʃvuːl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "scheue" or "schwul"?
"schwul" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,305 in our German list, against #42,110 for "scheue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering scheue vs schwul

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “scheue” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list