SchussvsSchüsselWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,151
“Schuss” frequency rank
#10,168
“Schüssel” frequency rank
13319
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schuss Schüssel
Definition Abfeuern einer Waffe Schale für Lebensmittel

Where the eye mixes Schuss and Schüssel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schuss runs 6 letters (CCCVCC) against Schüssel's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Schuss
8 ch
Schüssel

Visual trap between Schuss and Schüssel

A purely visual mix-up. Schuss ([ʃʊs]) and Schüssel ([ˈʃʏsl̩]) 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 13319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schuss is recorded at frequency rank #3,151, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃʊs]. Schüssel is at rank #10,168, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʏsl̩].

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 13319, this pair ranks #1,958,731 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schuss vs Schüssel

Shared letters: chs. Private to "Schuss": u. Private to "Schüssel": elü.

"Schuss" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Schüssel" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schuss ← cshuss · scchuss · schhuss · schsus · schus · schuß · scuhss · shcuss

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schuss" for "Schüssel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃʊs] versus [ˈʃʏsl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schuss" or "Schüssel"?
"Schuss" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,151 in our German list, against #10,168 for "Schüssel". 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 "Schuss" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schüssel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,731 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schuss" and "Schüssel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlüsseln vs Schüssel". 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 #1,958,731 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