Schuhe vs schüren, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Schuhe” is a noun and “schüren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,039
“Schuhe” frequency rank: #22,135
“schüren” frequency rank: 24174
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Schuhe	schüren
Definition	Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schuh	Feuer durch Herumstochern anfachen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schuhe and schüren apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

Schuhe

7 ch

schüren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schuhe is [ˈʃuːə] while schüren is [ˈʃyːʁən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schuhe is recorded at frequency rank #2,039, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃuːə]. schüren is at rank #22,135, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃyːʁən].

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 24174, this pair ranks #1,851,364 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schuhe vs schüren

Shared letters: cehs. Private to "Schuhe": u. Private to "schüren": nrü.

"Schuhe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "schüren" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Schuhe ← cshuhe · scchuhe · schhue · schhuhe · schueh · schuhhe · scuhhe · shcuhe

Frequency comparison

Schuhe#2,039

schüren#22,135

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schuhe" and "schüren" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schuhe" is a noun and "schüren" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Schuhe" or "schüren"?

"Schuhe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,039 in our German list, against #22,135 for "schüren". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Schuhe vs schüren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schuhe”; for a verb, it's “schüren”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schuhe” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable