schluckenvsschluckteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,802
“schlucken” frequency rank
#41,449
“schluckte” frequency rank
51251
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlucken schluckte
Definition durch Zusammenziehen der Muskeln im Hals und Mund in den Magen gelangen lassen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schlucken

Where the eye mixes schlucken and schluckte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. schlucken (CCCCVCCVC) and schluckte (CCCCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
schlucken
9 ch
schluckte

Look-alike desk: schlucken vs schluckte

A purely visual mix-up. schlucken ([ˈʃlʊkn̩]) and schluckte ([ˈʃlʊktə]) 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 51251, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlucken is recorded at frequency rank #9,802, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlʊkn̩]. schluckte is at rank #41,449, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlʊktə].

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 51251, this pair ranks #1,142,681 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schlucken vs schluckte

Shared letters: cehklsu. Private to "schlucken": n. Private to "schluckte": t.

"schlucken" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC  ·  "schluckte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlucken ← cshlucken · scchlucken · schhlucken · schlcuken · schllucken · schluccken · schlucekn · schluckenn
  • schluckte ← cshluckte · scchluckte · schhluckte · schlcukte · schlluckte · schlucckte · schlucket · schluckkte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schlucken" and "schluckte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃlʊkn̩] versus [ˈʃlʊktə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schlucken" vs "schluckte" - which ranks higher?
"schlucken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,802 in our German list, against #41,449 for "schluckte". 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 "schlucken" and "schluckte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlucken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schluckte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,142,681 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlucken" and "schluckte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlucke vs schluckte". 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 #1,142,681 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