schufvsshutConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,780
“schuf” frequency rank
#47,728
“shut” frequency rank
56508
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schuf shut
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schaffen schließen

Where the eye mixes schuf and shut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
schuf
4 ch
shut

Why the eye confuses schuf with shut

A purely visual mix-up. schuf ([ʃuːf]) and shut ([ʃʌt]) 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 56508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schuf is recorded at frequency rank #8,780, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃuːf]. shut is at rank #47,728, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃʌt].

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 56508, this pair ranks #937,459 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schuf vs shut

Shared letters: hsu. Private to "schuf": cf. Private to "shut": t.

"schuf" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC  ·  "shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schufcshuf · scchuf · schfu · schhuf · schuff · scuhf · shcuf · sschuf
  • shutshhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schuf" and "shut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃuːf] versus [ʃʌt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schuf" or "shut"?
"schuf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,780 in our German list, against #47,728 for "shut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schuf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "shut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #937,459 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schuf" and "shut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schütt vs shut". 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 #937,459 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