Which to use
“schützen” and “schützte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,524
- “schützen” frequency rank
- #37,193
- “schützte” frequency rank
- 38717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schützen | schützte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | verteidigen; vor negativen Veränderungen bewahren | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schützen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schützen and schützte apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. schützen ([ˈʃʏt͡sn̩]) and schützte ([ˈʃʏt͡stə]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schützen is recorded at frequency rank #1,524, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʏt͡sn̩]. schützte is at rank #37,193, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʏt͡stə].
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 38717, this pair ranks #1,556,492 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schützen vs schützte
Shared letters: cehstzü. Private to "schützen": n. Private to "schützte": -.
"schützen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "schützte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV