schossenvsSchüssenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#20,052
“schossen” frequency rank
#24,120
“Schüssen” frequency rank
44172
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schossen Schüssen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schießen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Schuss

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schossen and Schüssen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
schossen
8 ch
Schüssen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schossen is [ˈʃɔsn̩] while Schüssen is [ˈʃʏsn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - o in “schossen” becomes ü in “Schüssen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schossen is recorded at frequency rank #20,052, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɔsn̩]. Schüssen is at rank #24,120, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʏsn̩].

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 44172, this pair ranks #1,394,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schossen vs Schüssen

Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schossen": o. Private to "Schüssen": ü.

"schossen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schüssen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schossencshossen · scchossen · schhossen · schosen · schosesn · schossenn · schossne · schoßen

Frequency comparison

schossen#20,052
Schüssen#24,120

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schossen" and "Schüssen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schossen" is a verb and "Schüssen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schossen" or "Schüssen"?
"schossen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,052 in our German list, against #24,120 for "Schüssen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schossen vs Schüssen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schossen”; for a noun, it's “Schüssen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schossen” 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