SchachvsSchuhWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,526
“Schach” frequency rank
#6,350
“Schuh” frequency rank
13876
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schach Schuh
Definition strategisches Brettspiel für zwei Spieler, Kurzwort für Schachspiel äußere Fußbekleidung

Where the eye mixes Schach and Schuh

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Schach
5 ch
Schuh

Visual trap between Schach and Schuh

A purely visual mix-up. Schach ([ʃax]) and Schuh ([ʃuː]) 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 13876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schach is recorded at frequency rank #7,526, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃax]. Schuh is at rank #6,350, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃuː].

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 13876, this pair ranks #1,955,064 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schach vs Schuh

Shared letters: chs. Private to "Schach": a. Private to "Schuh": u.

"Schach" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Schuh" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schachcshach · scahch · scchach · schacch · schachh · schahc · schcah · schhach
  • Schuhcshuh · scchuh · schhu · schhuh · schuhh · scuhh · shcuh · sschuh

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schach" for "Schuh" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃax] versus [ʃuː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schach" vs "Schuh" - which ranks higher?
"Schuh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,350 in our German list, against #7,526 for "Schach". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schuh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,955,064 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schach" and "Schuh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schach vs Scotch". 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 #1,955,064 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