Which to use
“scheuen” and “schmusen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,380
- “scheuen” frequency rank
- #48,458
- “schmusen” frequency rank
- 66838
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scheuen | schmusen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas (häufig aus Angst) vermeiden oder meiden | sich an jemanden zärtlich anschmiegen |
Where the eye mixes scheuen and schmusen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. scheuen runs 7 letters (CCCVVVC) against schmusen's 8 (CCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between scheuen and schmusen
A purely visual mix-up. scheuen ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ən]) and schmusen ([ˈʃmuːzn̩]) 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 66838, 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]. schmusen is at rank #48,458, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmuːzn̩].
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 66838, this pair ranks #559,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scheuen vs schmusen
Shared letters: cehnsu. Private to "scheuen": -. Private to "schmusen": m.
"scheuen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVVC · "schmusen" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "scheuen" and "schmusen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "scheuen" or "schmusen" show up more?
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 "scheuen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schmusen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #559,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scheuen" and "schmusen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Scheunen 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 #559,818 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.