sattvsshutTell them apart

Quick tell: satt is a adjective, shut is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“satt” is an adjective and “shut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,348
“satt” frequency rank
#47,728
“shut” frequency rank
54076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature satt shut
Definition nicht mehr hungrig; keinen Hunger mehr habend schließen

Where the eye mixes satt and shut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
satt
4 ch
shut

Visual trap between satt and shut

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: satt is [zat] while shut is [ʃʌt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

satt is recorded at frequency rank #6,348, classified as anadj, pronounced [zat]. shut is at rank #47,728, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃʌt].

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 54076, this pair ranks #1,033,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of satt vs shut

Shared letters: st. Private to "satt": a. Private to "shut": hu.

"satt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sattastt · ssatt
  • shutshhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "satt" for "shut" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "satt" is an adjective and "shut" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "satt" or "shut" show up more?
"satt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,348 in our German list, against #47,728 for "shut". 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 "satt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "shut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,033,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "satt" and "shut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schütt vs shut". 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 #1,033,071 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