SchildkrötevsSchildkrötenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#20,047
“Schildkröte” frequency rank
#23,300
“Schildkröten” frequency rank
43347
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schildkröte Schildkröten
Definition im Wasser und an Land lebendes Reptil mit Schutzpanzer Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schildkröte

Where the eye mixes Schildkröte and Schildkröten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Schildkröte runs 11 letters (CCCVCCCCVCV) against Schildkröten's 12 (CCCVCCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Schildkröte
12 ch
Schildkröten

Look-alike desk: Schildkröte vs Schildkröten

A purely visual mix-up. Schildkröte ([ˈʃɪltˌkʁøːtə]) and Schildkröten ([ˈʃɪltˌkʁøːtən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Schildkröte” sits inside “Schildkröten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43347, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schildkröte is recorded at frequency rank #20,047, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪltˌkʁøːtə]. Schildkröten is at rank #23,300, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪltˌkʁøːtən].

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 43347, this pair ranks #1,420,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schildkröte vs Schildkröten

Shared letters: cdehiklrstö. Private to "Schildkröte": -. Private to "Schildkröten": n.

"Schildkröte" · 11 letters · shape CCCVCCCCVCV  ·  "Schildkröten" · 12 letters · shape CCCVCCCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schildkröte" for "Schildkröten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɪltˌkʁøːtə] versus [ˈʃɪltˌkʁøːtən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schildkröte" or "Schildkröten"?
"Schildkröte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,047 in our German list, against #23,300 for "Schildkröten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Schildkröte" and "Schildkröten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schildkröte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schildkröten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,420,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schildkröte" and "Schildkröten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schilderte vs Schildkröte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,420,952 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