SchächtevsSchichtenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#42,799
“Schächte” frequency rank
#5,758
“Schichten” frequency rank
48557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schächte Schichten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schacht Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schicht

Where the eye mixes Schächte and Schichten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Schächte runs 8 letters (CCCVCCCV) against Schichten's 9 (CCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Schächte
9 ch
Schichten

Look-alike desk: Schächte vs Schichten

A purely visual mix-up. Schächte ([ˈʃɛçtə]) and Schichten ([ˈʃɪçtn̩]) 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 48557, 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]. Schichten is at rank #5,758, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪçtn̩].

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 48557, this pair ranks #1,244,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schächte vs Schichten

Shared letters: cehst. Private to "Schächte": ä. Private to "Schichten": in.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schichten ← cshichten · scchichten · schcihten · schhichten · schicchten · schichetn · schichhten · schichtenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schächte" for "Schichten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛçtə] versus [ˈʃɪçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schächte" or "Schichten"?
"Schichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,758 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.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Schächte" and "Schichten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schächte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,244,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schächte" and "Schichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sachte vs Schächte". 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 #1,244,103 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