säuftvsshutWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,266
“säuft” frequency rank
#47,728
“shut” frequency rank
91994
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature säuft shut
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs saufen schließen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set säuft and shut apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
säuft
4 ch
shut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. säuft ([ˈzɔɪ̯ft]) and shut ([ʃʌt]) 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 91994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

säuft is recorded at frequency rank #44,266, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯ft]. 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 91994, this pair ranks #33,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of säuft vs shut

Shared letters: stu. Private to "säuft": . Private to "shut": h.

"säuft" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • shutshhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht

Frequency comparison

säuft#44,266
shut#47,728

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "säuft" and "shut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzɔɪ̯ft] versus [ʃʌt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "säuft" or "shut"?
"säuft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,266 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.

Remembering säuft vs shut

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “säuft” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list