schultvsshutWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,280
“schult” frequency rank
#47,728
“shut” frequency rank
81008
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schult shut
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schulen schließen

Where the eye mixes schult and shut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
schult
4 ch
shut

Why the eye confuses schult with shut

A purely visual mix-up. schult ([ʃuːlt]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schult is recorded at frequency rank #33,280, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃuːlt]. 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 81008, this pair ranks #184,149 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schult vs shut

Shared letters: hstu. Private to "schult": cl. Private to "shut": -.

"schult" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schultcshult · scchult · schhult · schlut · schullt · schultt · schutl · scuhlt
  • shutshhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schult" and "shut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃuːlt] versus [ʃʌt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schult" or "shut"?
"schult" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,280 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schult" 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 #184,149 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schult" 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 #184,149 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