schiebenvsschiefeConfusable pair

Quick tell: schieben is a verb, schiefe is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schieben” is a verb and “schiefe” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,529
“schieben” frequency rank
#33,268
“schiefe” frequency rank
38797
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schieben schiefe
Definition einen Gegenstand durch mechanischen Druck bewegen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schief

Where the eye mixes schieben and schiefe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
schieben
7 ch
schiefe

Why the eye confuses schieben with schiefe

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schieben is [ˈʃiːbn̩] while schiefe is [ˈʃiːfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schieben is recorded at frequency rank #5,529, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃiːbn̩]. schiefe is at rank #33,268, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃiːfə].

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 38797, this pair ranks #1,554,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schieben vs schiefe

Shared letters: cehis. Private to "schieben": bn. Private to "schiefe": f.

"schieben" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC  ·  "schiefe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schiebencshieben · scchieben · schhieben · schibeen · schiebben · schiebenn · schiebne · schieebn
  • schiefecshiefe · scchiefe · scheife · schhiefe · schieef · schieffe · schifee · scihefe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schieben" and "schiefe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schieben" is a verb and "schiefe" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schieben" or "schiefe"?
"schieben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,529 in our German list, against #33,268 for "schiefe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schiefe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,554,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schieben" and "schiefe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiefe vs Schmiere". 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 #1,554,357 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