schreibvsschreieWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“schreib” and “schreie” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,219
“schreib” frequency rank
#13,233
“schreie” frequency rank
18452
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schreib schreie
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schreiben 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schreien

Where the eye mixes schreib and schreie

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schreib (CCCCVVC) and schreie (CCCCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
schreib
7 ch
schreie

Visual trap between schreib and schreie

A purely visual mix-up. schreib ([ʃʁaɪ̯p]) and schreie ([ˈʃʁaɪ̯ə]) 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 a single letter - b in “schreib” becomes e in “schreie”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schreib is recorded at frequency rank #5,219, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃʁaɪ̯p]. schreie is at rank #13,233, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʁaɪ̯ə].

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 18452, this pair ranks #1,918,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schreib vs schreie

Shared letters: cehirs. Private to "schreib": b. Private to "schreie": -.

"schreib" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVVC  ·  "schreie" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schreib ← cshreib · scchreib · scherib · schhreib · schrebi · schreibb · schrreib · scrheib
  • schreie ← cshreie · scchreie · scherie · schhreie · schreei · schriee · schrreie · scrheie

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schreib" for "schreie" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃʁaɪ̯p] versus [ˈʃʁaɪ̯ə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schreib" vs "schreie" - which ranks higher?
"schreib" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,219 in our German list, against #13,233 for "schreie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schreib" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schreie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,918,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schreib" and "schreie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schreie vs Schreier". 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 #1,918,103 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