Which to use
“schleifen” and “schleusen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,933
- “schleifen” frequency rank
- #24,913
- “schleusen” frequency rank
- 38846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schleifen | schleusen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder jemanden über eine Oberfläche entlang ziehen oder schleppen | etwas (zum Beispiel ein Schiff) durch eine Schleuse bringen |
Where the eye mixes schleifen and schleusen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schleifen and schleusen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses schleifen with schleusen
A purely visual mix-up. schleifen ([ˈʃlaɪ̯fn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schleifen is recorded at frequency rank #13,933, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlaɪ̯fn̩]. 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 38846, this pair ranks #1,553,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schleifen vs schleusen
Shared letters: cehlns. Private to "schleifen": fi. Private to "schleusen": u.
"schleifen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC · "schleusen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schleifen" and "schleusen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schleifen" or "schleusen" show up more?
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 "schleifen" 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 #1,553,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schleifen" 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 #1,553,084 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.