schätze vs schätzten, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#3,682
“schätze” frequency rank: #46,268
“schätzten” frequency rank: 49950
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	schätze	schätzten
Definition	1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schätzen	1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schätzen

Where the eye mixes schätze and schätzten

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

7 ch

schätze

9 ch

schätzten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schätze ([ˈʃɛt͡sə]) and schätzten ([ˈʃɛt͡stn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49950, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schätze is recorded at frequency rank #3,682, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛt͡sə]. schätzten is at rank #46,268, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛt͡stn̩].

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 49950, this pair ranks #1,192,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schätze vs schätzten

Shared letters: cehstzä. Private to "schätze": -. Private to "schätzten": n.

"schätze" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV · "schätzten" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schätze" and "schätzten" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "schätze" or "schätzten"?

"schätze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,682 in our German list, against #46,268 for "schätzten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

Full dictionary entry for "schätze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "schätzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #1,192,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"schätze" and "schätzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schätzten vs schützte". Nearby pair

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