schalten vs schultern, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#6,851
“schalten” frequency rank: #6,351
“schultern” frequency rank: 13202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	schalten	schultern
Definition	eine Schaltung betätigen, zum Beispiel auf dem Fahrrad einen anderen Gang einlegen	transitiv:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schalten and schultern apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

schalten

9 ch

schultern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schalten ([ˈʃaltn̩]) and schultern ([ˈʃʊltɐn]) 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 13202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schalten is recorded at frequency rank #6,851, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaltn̩]. schultern is at rank #6,351, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʊltɐn].

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 13202, this pair ranks #1,959,459 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schalten vs schultern

Shared letters: cehlnst. Private to "schalten": a. Private to "schultern": ru.

"schalten" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "schultern" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

schalten ← cshalten · scahlten · scchalten · schaletn · schallten · schaltenn · schaltne · schaltten
schultern ← cshultern · scchultern · schhultern · schlutern · schuletrn · schulltern · schultenr · schulternn

Frequency comparison

schalten#6,851

schultern#6,351

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schalten" and "schultern" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaltn̩] versus [ˈʃʊltɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "schalten" or "schultern"?

"schultern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,351 in our German list, against #6,851 for "schalten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schalten vs schultern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schalten” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable