SchattenvsSchlittenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,612
“Schatten” frequency rank
#16,819
“Schlitten” frequency rank
19431
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schatten Schlitten
Definition ein nicht direkt beleuchteter Bereich niedriger Sitz, der am vorderen Ende zwei nach oben gebogene Kufen hat und insbesondere von Kindern dazu verwendet wird, durch den Schnee und über Eis zu gleiten

Where the eye mixes Schatten and Schlitten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Schatten
9 ch
Schlitten

Visual trap between Schatten and Schlitten

A purely visual mix-up. Schatten ([ˈʃatn̩]) and Schlitten ([ˈʃlɪtn̩]) 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 19431, 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]. Schlitten is at rank #16,819, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɪtn̩].

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 19431, this pair ranks #1,908,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schatten vs Schlitten

Shared letters: cehnst. Private to "Schatten": a. Private to "Schlitten": il.

"Schatten" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schlitten" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schattencshatten · scahtten · scchatten · schaten · schatetn · schattenn · schattne · schhatten
  • Schlittencshlitten · scchlitten · schhlitten · schiltten · schliten · schlitetn · schlittenn · schlittne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schatten" for "Schlitten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃatn̩] versus [ˈʃlɪtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Schatten" or "Schlitten" show up more?
"Schatten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,612 in our German list, against #16,819 for "Schlitten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schatten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schlitten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,908,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schatten" and "Schlitten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlieren vs Schlitten". 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 #1,908,385 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