schuftenvsschulternWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,256
“schuften” frequency rank
#6,351
“schultern” frequency rank
38607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schuften schultern
Definition hart/schwer arbeiten transitiv:

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
schuften
9 ch
schultern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schuften ([ˈʃʊftn̩]) and schultern ([ˈʃʊltɐn]) 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 38607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schuften is recorded at frequency rank #32,256, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʊftn̩]. schultern is at rank #6,351, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʊltɐn].

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 38607, this pair ranks #1,559,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schuften vs schultern

Shared letters: cehnstu. Private to "schuften": f. Private to "schultern": lr.

"schuften" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "schultern" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schuftencshuften · scchuften · schfuten · schhuften · schufetn · schufften · schuftenn · schuftne
  • schulterncshultern · scchultern · schhultern · schlutern · schuletrn · schulltern · schultenr · schulternn

Frequency comparison

schuften#32,256
schultern#6,351

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schuften" and "schultern" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃʊftn̩] versus [ˈʃʊltɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schuften" or "schultern"?
"schultern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,351 in our German list, against #32,256 for "schuften". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schuften vs schultern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schuften” 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