SchreckvsschrecktWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,788
“Schreck” frequency rank
#23,304
“schreckt” frequency rank
36092
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schreck schreckt
Definition heftige Emotion, die durch die Wahrnehmung von etwas Unerwartetem oder Bedrohlichem ausgelöst wird 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schrecken

Where the eye mixes Schreck and schreckt

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

7 ch
Schreck
8 ch
schreckt

Why the eye confuses Schreck with schreckt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schreck is [ʃʁɛk] while schreckt is [ʃʁɛkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Schreck” sits inside “schreckt”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schreck is recorded at frequency rank #12,788, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃʁɛk]. schreckt is at rank #23,304, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃʁɛkt].

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 36092, this pair ranks #1,624,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schreck vs schreckt

Shared letters: cehkrs. Private to "Schreck": -. Private to "schreckt": t.

"Schreck" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC  ·  "schreckt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schreckcshreck · scchreck · scherck · schhreck · schrcek · schrecck · schreckk · schrekc
  • schrecktcshreckt · scchreckt · scherckt · schhreckt · schrcekt · schrecckt · schreckkt · schrecktt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schreck" and "schreckt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schreck" is a noun and "schreckt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Schreck" vs "schreckt" - which ranks higher?
"Schreck" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,788 in our German list, against #23,304 for "schreckt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schreck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schreckt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,624,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schreck" and "schreckt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schreckt vs schwenkt". 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 #1,624,107 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