SchattenvsschätzeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schatten is a noun, schätze is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schatten” is a noun and “schätze” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,612
“Schatten” frequency rank
#3,682
“schätze” frequency rank
6294
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schatten schätze
Definition ein nicht direkt beleuchteter Bereich 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schätzen

Where the eye mixes Schatten and schätze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Schatten
7 ch
schätze

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schatten is [ˈʃatn̩] while schätze is [ˈʃɛt͡sə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schatten is recorded at frequency rank #2,612, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃatn̩]. schätze is at rank #3,682, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛt͡sə].

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 6294, this pair ranks #1,992,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schatten vs schätze

Shared letters: cehst. Private to "Schatten": an. Private to "schätze": .

"Schatten" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "schätze" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schattencshatten · scahtten · scchatten · schaten · schatetn · schattenn · schattne · schhatten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schatten" and "schätze" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schatten" is a noun and "schätze" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schatten" or "schätze"?
"Schatten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,612 in our German list, against #3,682 for "schätze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Schatten" and "schätze". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schatten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schätze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,992,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schatten" and "schätze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schätze vs Schlitze". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list