schobenvsschöpfenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#44,203
“schoben” frequency rank
#17,127
“schöpfen” frequency rank
61330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schoben schöpfen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schieben etwas aus einer großen Menge Flüssigkeit entnehmen

Where the eye mixes schoben and schöpfen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. schoben runs 7 letters (CCCVCVC) against schöpfen's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
schoben
8 ch
schöpfen

Look-alike desk: schoben vs schöpfen

A purely visual mix-up. schoben ([ˈʃoːbn̩]) and schöpfen ([ˈʃœp͡fn̩]) 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 61330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schoben is recorded at frequency rank #44,203, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃoːbn̩]. schöpfen is at rank #17,127, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃœp͡fn̩].

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 61330, this pair ranks #753,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schoben vs schöpfen

Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schoben": bo. Private to "schöpfen": fpö.

"schoben" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC  ·  "schöpfen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schoben ← cshoben · scchoben · schboen · schhoben · schobben · schobenn · schobne · schoebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schoben" for "schöpfen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃoːbn̩] versus [ˈʃœp͡fn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "schoben" or "schöpfen" show up more?
"schöpfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,127 in our German list, against #44,203 for "schoben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schoben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schöpfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #753,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schoben" and "schöpfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schoben vs schrien". 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 #753,843 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