schicktvsschmücktWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,481
“schickt” frequency rank
#31,260
“schmückt” frequency rank
34741
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schickt schmückt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schicken 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schmücken

Where the eye mixes schickt and schmückt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schickt runs 7 letters (CCCVCCC) against schmückt's 8 (CCCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
schickt
8 ch
schmückt

Visual trap between schickt and schmückt

A purely visual mix-up. schickt ([ʃɪkt]) and schmückt ([ʃmʏkt]) 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 34741, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schickt is recorded at frequency rank #3,481, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃɪkt]. schmückt is at rank #31,260, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃmʏkt].

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 34741, this pair ranks #1,656,417 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schickt vs schmückt

Shared letters: chkst. Private to "schickt": i. Private to "schmückt": mü.

"schickt" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC  ·  "schmückt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schickt ← cshickt · scchickt · schcikt · schhickt · schicckt · schickkt · schicktt · schictk

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schickt" and "schmückt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃɪkt] versus [ʃmʏkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "schickt" or "schmückt" show up more?
"schickt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,481 in our German list, against #31,260 for "schmückt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schickt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schmückt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,656,417 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schickt" and "schmückt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlucke vs schmückt". 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 #1,656,417 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