schürtvsspürtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#33,284
“schürt” frequency rank
#8,949
“spürt” frequency rank
42233
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schürt spürt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schüren 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spüren

Where the eye mixes schürt and spürt

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

6 ch
schürt
5 ch
spürt

Why the eye confuses schürt with spürt

A purely visual mix-up. schürt ([ʃyːɐ̯t]) and spürt ([ʃpyːɐ̯t]) 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 42233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schürt is recorded at frequency rank #33,284, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃyːɐ̯t]. spürt is at rank #8,949, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpyːɐ̯t].

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 42233, this pair ranks #1,455,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schürt vs spürt

Shared letters: rstü. Private to "schürt": ch. Private to "spürt": p.

"schürt" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "spürt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schürt" for "spürt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃyːɐ̯t] versus [ʃpyːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schürt" or "spürt"?
"spürt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,949 in our German list, against #33,284 for "schürt". 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 "schürt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "spürt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,455,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schürt" and "spürt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schurke vs schürt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,455,639 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