SchachtelvsSchachtelnTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,117
“Schachtel” frequency rank
#33,266
“Schachteln” frequency rank
50383
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schachtel Schachteln
Definition Verpackung, meistens in der Form eines Quaders Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schachtel

Where the eye mixes Schachtel and Schachteln

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Schachtel runs 9 letters (CCCVCCCVC) against Schachteln's 10 (CCCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Schachtel
10 ch
Schachteln

Why the eye confuses Schachtel with Schachteln

A purely visual mix-up. Schachtel ([ˈʃaxtl̩]) and Schachteln ([ˈʃaxtl̩n]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Schachtel” sits inside “Schachteln”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50383, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schachtel is recorded at frequency rank #17,117, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaxtl̩]. Schachteln is at rank #33,266, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaxtl̩n].

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 50383, this pair ranks #1,175,712 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schachtel vs Schachteln

Shared letters: acehlst. Private to "Schachtel": -. Private to "Schachteln": n.

"Schachtel" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC  ·  "Schachteln" · 10 letters · shape CCCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schachtelcshachtel · scahchtel · scchachtel · schacchtel · schachetl · schachhtel · schachtell · schachtle
  • Schachtelncshachteln · scahchteln · scchachteln · schacchteln · schachetln · schachhteln · schachtelln · schachtelnn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schachtel" and "Schachteln" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaxtl̩] versus [ˈʃaxtl̩n]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schachtel" vs "Schachteln" - which ranks higher?
"Schachtel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,117 in our German list, against #33,266 for "Schachteln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schachtel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schachteln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,175,712 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schachtel" and "Schachteln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schächte vs Schachteln". 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 #1,175,712 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