Which to use
“schützen” and “stützen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,524
- “schützen” frequency rank
- #8,789
- “stützen” frequency rank
- 10313
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schützen | stützen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | verteidigen; vor negativen Veränderungen bewahren | jemanden, etwas (ab)sichern, zusätzlichen Halt geben |
Where the eye mixes schützen and stützen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schützen and stützen
A purely visual mix-up. schützen ([ˈʃʏt͡sn̩]) and stützen ([ˈʃtʏt͡sn̩]) 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 10313, 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]. stützen is at rank #8,789, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʏt͡sn̩].
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 10313, this pair ranks #1,975,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schützen vs stützen
Shared letters: enstzü. Private to "schützen": ch. Private to "stützen": -.
"schützen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "stützen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schützen" and "stützen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schützen" or "stützen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schützen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stützen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,975,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schützen" and "stützen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stuten vs stützen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,975,755 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.