SchluckvsSchreckWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,119
“Schluck” frequency rank
#12,788
“Schreck” frequency rank
23907
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schluck Schreck
Definition kleine mundgerechte Trinkmenge heftige Emotion, die durch die Wahrnehmung von etwas Unerwartetem oder Bedrohlichem ausgelöst wird

Where the eye mixes Schluck and Schreck

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Schluck
7 ch
Schreck

Look-alike desk: Schluck vs Schreck

A purely visual mix-up. Schluck ([ʃlʊk]) and Schreck ([ʃʁɛk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23907, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schluck is recorded at frequency rank #11,119, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃlʊk]. Schreck is at rank #12,788, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃʁɛk].

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 23907, this pair ranks #1,854,966 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schluck vs Schreck

Shared letters: chks. Private to "Schluck": lu. Private to "Schreck": er.

"Schluck" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC  ·  "Schreck" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schluckcshluck · scchluck · schhluck · schlcuk · schlluck · schlucck · schluckk · schlukc
  • Schreckcshreck · scchreck · scherck · schhreck · schrcek · schrecck · schreckk · schrekc

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schluck" and "Schreck" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃlʊk] versus [ʃʁɛk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schluck" or "Schreck"?
"Schluck" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,119 in our German list, against #12,788 for "Schreck". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schluck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schreck" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,854,966 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schluck" and "Schreck" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schluck vs schlucke". 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 #1,854,966 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