schätzenvsschätztenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,484
“schätzen” frequency rank
#46,268
“schätzten” frequency rank
49752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schätzen schätzten
Definition Zahlenwerte, Größen oder Ähnliches aufgrund bekannter Tatsachen näherungsweise bestimmen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schätzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schätzen and schätzten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
schätzen
9 ch
schätzten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schätzen ([ˈʃɛt͡sn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schätzen is recorded at frequency rank #3,484, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛt͡sn̩]. 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 49752, this pair ranks #1,199,677 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schätzen vs schätzten

Shared letters: cehnstzä. Private to "schätzen": -. Private to "schätzten": -.

"schätzen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "schätzten" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schätzen" and "schätzten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛt͡sn̩] versus [ˈʃɛt͡stn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schätzen" or "schätzten"?
"schätzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,484 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list