schaltvsschaltetWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#23,692
“schalt” frequency rank
#9,624
“schaltet” frequency rank
33316
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schalt schaltet
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schalten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schalten

Where the eye mixes schalt and schaltet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
schalt
8 ch
schaltet

Look-alike desk: schalt vs schaltet

A purely visual mix-up. schalt ([ʃalt]) and schaltet ([ˈʃaltət]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “schalt” sits inside “schaltet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schalt is recorded at frequency rank #23,692, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃalt]. schaltet is at rank #9,624, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaltət].

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 33316, this pair ranks #1,688,600 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schalt vs schaltet

Shared letters: achlst. Private to "schalt": -. Private to "schaltet": e.

"schalt" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "schaltet" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schaltcshalt · scahlt · scchalt · schaltt · schatl · schhalt · schlat · shcalt
  • schaltetcshaltet · scahltet · scchaltet · schalett · schalltet · schaltett · schaltte · schalttet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schalt" for "schaltet" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃalt] versus [ˈʃaltət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schalt" vs "schaltet" - which ranks higher?
"schaltet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,624 in our German list, against #23,692 for "schalt". 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 "schalt" and "schaltet" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schalt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schaltet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,688,600 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schalt" and "schaltet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schalt vs schütt". 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 #1,688,600 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