Which to use
“schultern” and “schütteln” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,351
- “schultern” frequency rank
- #10,169
- “schütteln” frequency rank
- 16520
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schultern | schütteln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | transitiv: | einen Gegenstand oder eine Person schnell hin- und herbewegen |
Where the eye mixes schultern and schütteln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schultern with schütteln
A purely visual mix-up. schultern ([ˈʃʊltɐn]) and schütteln ([ˈʃʏtl̩n]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16520, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schultern is recorded at frequency rank #6,351, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʊltɐn]. schütteln is at rank #10,169, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʏtl̩n].
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 16520, this pair ranks #1,935,175 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schultern vs schütteln
Shared letters: cehlnst. Private to "schultern": ru. Private to "schütteln": ü.
"schultern" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCVCC · "schütteln" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schultern ← cshultern · scchultern · schhultern · schlutern · schuletrn · schulltern · schultenr · schulternn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schultern" and "schütteln" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "schultern" vs "schütteln" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schultern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schütteln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,935,175 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schultern" and "schütteln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schummeln vs schütteln". 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 #1,935,175 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.