SchlittenvsSchottenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,819
“Schlitten” frequency rank
#16,542
“Schotten” frequency rank
33361
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schlitten Schotten
Definition niedriger Sitz, der am vorderen Ende zwei nach oben gebogene Kufen hat und insbesondere von Kindern dazu verwendet wird, durch den Schnee und über Eis zu gleiten ausgetrockneter Topfen, zu Bröseln zerfallener Käse

Where the eye mixes Schlitten and Schotten

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

9 ch
Schlitten
8 ch
Schotten

Look-alike desk: Schlitten vs Schotten

A purely visual mix-up. Schlitten ([ˈʃlɪtn̩]) and Schotten ([ˈʃɔtn̩]) 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 33361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schlitten is recorded at frequency rank #16,819, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɪtn̩]. Schotten is at rank #16,542, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɔtn̩].

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 33361, this pair ranks #1,687,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schlitten vs Schotten

Shared letters: cehnst. Private to "Schlitten": il. Private to "Schotten": o.

"Schlitten" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC  ·  "Schotten" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schlittencshlitten · scchlitten · schhlitten · schiltten · schliten · schlitetn · schlittenn · schlittne
  • Schottencshotten · scchotten · schhotten · schoten · schotetn · schottenn · schottne · schtoten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schlitten" and "Schotten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃlɪtn̩] versus [ˈʃɔtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Schlitten" or "Schotten" show up more?
"Schotten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,542 in our German list, against #16,819 for "Schlitten". 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 "Schlitten" and "Schotten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schlitten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schotten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,687,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schlitten" and "Schotten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlieren vs Schlitten". 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 #1,687,617 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