Which to use
“schleusen” and “schmusen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,913
- “schleusen” frequency rank
- #48,458
- “schmusen” frequency rank
- 73371
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schleusen | schmusen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas (zum Beispiel ein Schiff) durch eine Schleuse bringen | sich an jemanden zärtlich anschmiegen |
Where the eye mixes schleusen and schmusen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schleusen runs 9 letters (CCCCVVCVC) against schmusen's 8 (CCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between schleusen and schmusen
A purely visual mix-up. schleusen ([ˈʃlɔɪ̯zn̩]) 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 73371, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schleusen is recorded at frequency rank #24,913, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɔɪ̯zn̩]. 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 73371, this pair ranks #362,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of schleusen vs schmusen
Shared letters: cehnsu. Private to "schleusen": l. Private to "schmusen": m.
"schleusen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC · "schmusen" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schleusen" and "schmusen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schleusen" 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 "schleusen" 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 #362,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schleusen" 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 #362,223 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.