schütztvsschützteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,220
“schützt” frequency rank
#37,193
“schützte” frequency rank
42413
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schützt schützte
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schützen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schützen

Where the eye mixes schützt and schützte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
schützt
8 ch
schützte

Visual trap between schützt and schützte

A purely visual mix-up. schützt ([ʃʏt͡st]) 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 differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “schützt” sits inside “schützte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schützt is recorded at frequency rank #5,220, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃʏt͡st]. 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 42413, this pair ranks #1,450,077 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schützt vs schützte

Shared letters: chstzü. Private to "schützt": -. Private to "schützte": e.

"schützt" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC  ·  "schützte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schützt" and "schützte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃʏt͡st] versus [ˈʃʏt͡stə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "schützt" or "schützte" show up more?
"schützt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,220 in our German list, against #37,193 for "schützte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "schützt" and "schützte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schützt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schützte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,450,077 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schützt" and "schützte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schütt vs schützte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,450,077 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