SchaltervsSchauderWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,623
“Schalter” frequency rank
#46,956
“Schauder” frequency rank
56579
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schalter Schauder
Definition elektrisches Bauelement zur Herstellung oder Unterbrechung einer elektrischen Verbindung plötzliches Gespür von Kälte

Where the eye mixes Schalter and Schauder

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

8 ch
Schalter
8 ch
Schauder

Look-alike desk: Schalter vs Schauder

A purely visual mix-up. Schalter ([ˈʃaltɐ]) and Schauder ([ˈʃaʊ̯dɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56579, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schalter is recorded at frequency rank #9,623, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaltɐ]. Schauder is at rank #46,956, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaʊ̯dɐ].

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 56579, this pair ranks #934,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schalter vs Schauder

Shared letters: acehrs. Private to "Schalter": lt. Private to "Schauder": du.

"Schalter" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schauder" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schaltercshalter · scahlter · scchalter · schaletr · schallter · schalterr · schaltre · schaltter
  • Schaudercshauder · scahuder · scchauder · schaduer · schaudder · schauderr · schaudre · schauedr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schalter" and "Schauder" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaltɐ] versus [ˈʃaʊ̯dɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schalter" or "Schauder"?
"Schalter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,623 in our German list, against #46,956 for "Schauder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schalter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schauder" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #934,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schalter" and "Schauder" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schauder vs Schaukel". 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 #934,826 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