SchlepptauvsschleppteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schlepptau is a noun, schleppte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schlepptau” is a noun and “schleppte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,715
“Schlepptau” frequency rank
#43,468
“schleppte” frequency rank
91183
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schlepptau schleppte
Definition starkes Seil, das zum Ziehen eines Fahrzeuges verwendet wird 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schleppen

Where the spellings diverge

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

10 ch
Schlepptau
9 ch
schleppte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schlepptau is [ˈʃlɛpˌtaʊ̯] while schleppte is [ˈʃlɛptə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 91183, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schlepptau is recorded at frequency rank #47,715, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɛpˌtaʊ̯]. schleppte is at rank #43,468, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɛptə].

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 91183, this pair ranks #40,149 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Schlepptau vs schleppte

Shared letters: cehlpst. Private to "Schlepptau": au. Private to "schleppte": -.

"Schlepptau" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVV  ·  "schleppte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schlepptaucshlepptau · scchlepptau · schelpptau · schhlepptau · schleppatu · schleppttau · schlepptua · schleptau
  • schlepptecshleppte · scchleppte · schelppte · schhleppte · schleppet · schlepptte · schlepte · schleptpe

Frequency comparison

Schlepptau#47,715
schleppte#43,468

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schlepptau" and "schleppte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schlepptau" is a noun and "schleppte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schlepptau" or "schleppte"?
"schleppte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,468 in our German list, against #47,715 for "Schlepptau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schlepptau vs schleppte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schlepptau”; for a verb, it's “schleppte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schlepptau” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list