SchächtevsschächtenTell them apart

Quick tell: Schächte is a noun, schächten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#42,799
“Schächte” frequency rank
#35,441
“schächten” frequency rank
78240
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schächte schächten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schacht mittels einer Schlachtmethode schlachten, wobei dem gefangenen Schlachtvieh betäubungslos der Hals aufgeschnitten wird, um es ausbluten zu lassen

Where the eye mixes Schächte and schächten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Schächte runs 8 letters (CCCVCCCV) against schächten's 9 (CCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Schächte
9 ch
schächten

Why the eye confuses Schächte with schächten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schächte is [ˈʃɛçtə] while schächten is [ˈʃɛçtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Schächte” sits inside “schächten”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schächte is recorded at frequency rank #42,799, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛçtə]. schächten is at rank #35,441, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛçtn̩].

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 78240, this pair ranks #242,701 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Schächte vs schächten

Shared letters: cehstä. Private to "Schächte": -. Private to "schächten": n.

"Schächte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV  ·  "schächten" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schächte" and "schächten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schächte" is a noun and "schächten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Schächte" or "schächten" show up more?
"schächten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,441 in our German list, against #42,799 for "Schächte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schächte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schächten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #242,701 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schächte" and "schächten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schächten vs Schälchen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #242,701 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