Which to use
“Schächte” is a noun and “schwächste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,799
- “Schächte” frequency rank
- #30,280
- “schwächste” frequency rank
- 73079
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schächte | schwächste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schacht | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs schwach |
Where the eye mixes Schächte and schwächste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Schächte runs 8 letters (CCCVCCCV) against schwächste's 10 (CCCCVCCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Schächte with schwächste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schächte is [ˈʃɛçtə] while schwächste is [ˈʃvɛçstə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73079, 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]. schwächste is at rank #30,280, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃvɛçstə].
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 73079, this pair ranks #370,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Schächte vs schwächste
Shared letters: cehstä. Private to "Schächte": -. Private to "schwächste": w.
"Schächte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV · "schwächste" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schächte" for "schwächste" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Schächte" or "schwächste" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Schächte" and "schwächste" 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 "schwächste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #370,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schächte" and "schwächste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sachte vs Schächte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #370,334 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.