Which to use
“scheuen” and “streuen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,380
- “scheuen” frequency rank
- #21,078
- “streuen” frequency rank
- 39458
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scheuen | streuen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas (häufig aus Angst) vermeiden oder meiden | (pulvrige oder körnige Substanz) werfen, damit sie sich auf einer Fläche verteilt |
Where the eye mixes scheuen and streuen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. scheuen and streuen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses scheuen with streuen
A purely visual mix-up. scheuen ([ˈʃɔɪ̯ən]) and streuen ([ˈʃtʁɔɪ̯ən]) 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 39458, 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]. streuen is at rank #21,078, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʁɔɪ̯ən].
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 39458, this pair ranks #1,536,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scheuen vs streuen
Shared letters: ensu. Private to "scheuen": ch. Private to "streuen": rt.
"scheuen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVVC · "streuen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "scheuen" and "streuen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "scheuen" or "streuen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "scheuen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "streuen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,536,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scheuen" and "streuen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stelen vs streuen". 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 #1,536,238 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.