Schächte vs schwächste, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schächte and schwächste apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

Schächte

10 ch

schwächste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

Schächte#42,799

schwächste#30,280

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schächte" and "schwächste" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schächte" is a noun and "schwächste" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Schächte" or "schwächste"?

"schwächste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,280 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.

Remembering Schächte vs schwächste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schächte”; for an adjective, it's “schwächste”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schächte” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable