SchurkenvsSchüssenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#31,780
“Schurken” frequency rank
#24,120
“Schüssen” frequency rank
55900
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schurken Schüssen
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Schurke Dativ Plural des Substantivs Schuss

Where the eye mixes Schurken and Schüssen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schurken and Schüssen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Schurken
8 ch
Schüssen

Look-alike desk: Schurken vs Schüssen

A purely visual mix-up. Schurken ([ˈʃʊʁkən]) and Schüssen ([ˈʃʏsn̩]) 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 55900, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schurken is recorded at frequency rank #31,780, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊʁkən]. Schüssen is at rank #24,120, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʏsn̩].

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 55900, this pair ranks #961,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schurken vs Schüssen

Shared letters: cehns. Private to "Schurken": kru. Private to "Schüssen": ü.

"Schurken" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schüssen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schurken ← cshurken · scchurken · schhurken · schruken · schukren · schurekn · schurkenn · schurkken

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schurken" for "Schüssen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃʊʁkən] versus [ˈʃʏsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Schurken" or "Schüssen" show up more?
"Schüssen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,120 in our German list, against #31,780 for "Schurken". 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 "Schurken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schüssen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #961,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schurken" and "Schüssen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schurke vs Schurken". 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 #961,312 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