scheuenvsschleusenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,380
“scheuen” frequency rank
#24,913
“schleusen” frequency rank
43293
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature scheuen schleusen
Definition etwas (häufig aus Angst) vermeiden oder meiden etwas (zum Beispiel ein Schiff) durch eine Schleuse bringen

Where the eye mixes scheuen and schleusen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. scheuen runs 7 letters (CCCVVVC) against schleusen's 9 (CCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
scheuen
9 ch
schleusen

Look-alike desk: scheuen vs schleusen

A purely visual mix-up. scheuen ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ən]) and schleusen ([ˈʃlɔɪ̯zn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

scheuen is recorded at frequency rank #18,380, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɔɪ̯ən]. schleusen is at rank #24,913, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɔɪ̯zn̩].

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 43293, this pair ranks #1,422,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of scheuen vs schleusen

Shared letters: cehnsu. Private to "scheuen": -. Private to "schleusen": l.

"scheuen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVVC  ·  "schleusen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • scheuen ← csheuen · sccheuen · scehuen · scheeun · scheuenn · schheuen · schueen · shceuen
  • schleusen ← cshleusen · scchleusen · schelusen · schhleusen · schlesuen · schleuesn · schleusenn · schleusne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "scheuen" and "schleusen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ən] versus [ˈʃlɔɪ̯zn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "scheuen" or "schleusen"?
"scheuen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,380 in our German list, against #24,913 for "schleusen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "scheuen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schleusen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,422,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "scheuen" and "schleusen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schleusen vs schmusen". 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 #1,422,635 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