scheu

[ʃɔɪ̯]

/[ʃɔɪ̯]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“scheu” has 7 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #15,198. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,198
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - aus Angst, Unbehagen oder Scham zurückhaltend und soziale Kontakte vermeidend

Corpus desk

Index DE-scheu · scheu · German

scheu · rank #15,198 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,198
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH schier

Nearest frequency peer: schier (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „scheu“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „scheu“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

scheu vs she
60% similar
scheu vs sehe
60% similar
scheu vs sehen
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for scheu
PropertyValue
Headwordscheu
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ʃɔɪ̯]
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,198
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „scheu“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).scheuliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „schier“ (#15,199), „Routen“ (#15,196), „Schlägerei“ (#15,200). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „scheu“ bei #15,198. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around scheu (IPA [ʃɔɪ̯]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #15,198 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for scheu, with forms such as "csheu", "sccheu", and "scehu". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "she", "sehe", "sehen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is scheu, spelled S-C-H-E-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    aus Angst, Unbehagen oder Scham zurückhaltend und soziale Kontakte vermeidend
  2. 2
    nicht zutraulich, Kontakt zu anderen Tieren oder Menschen meidend

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how scheu appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Sie gilt als scheue Künstlerin, lehnt sie doch konsequent Interviewanfragen ab.
  2. Die Rehe sind entgegen aller Erwartung gar nicht scheu, sie kommen auf einen zu und betteln sogar stupsend um Futter.

Antonyms

zutraulich

This word in other languages

shy(English)tímido(Español)timide(Français)tímido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • csheu
  • sccheu
  • scehu
  • schheu
  • schue
  • shceu
  • sscheu

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scheu - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

csheu2sccheu1scehu2schheu1schue2shceu2sscheu1
Edit distance from "scheu"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "scheu"?
"scheu" is spelled S-C-H-E-U. The IPA pronunciation is [ʃɔɪ̯].
What does "scheu" mean?
As an adjective, "scheu" means: aus Angst, Unbehagen oder Scham zurückhaltend und soziale Kontakte vermeidend
What words are commonly confused with "scheu"?
"scheu" is commonly confused with "she", "sehe", "sehen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "scheu"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scheu" is [ʃɔɪ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "scheu" come from?
"scheu" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "scheu", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Speer#15,217Spott#15,219starr#15,222Nizza#15,170

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

schier7 variantsUnfug7 variantsUtopie7 variantsmensa7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list