Which to use
“sha” and “shut” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,842
- “sha” frequency rank
- #47,728
- “shut” frequency rank
- 88570
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sha | shut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Flüssigkeit aufnehmen; trinken | schließen |
Where the eye mixes sha and shut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. sha runs 3 letters (CCV) against shut's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between sha and shut
A purely visual mix-up. sha ([ʃáː]) and shut ([ʃʌt]) 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 88570, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sha is recorded at frequency rank #40,842, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃáː]. shut is at rank #47,728, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃʌt].
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 88570, this pair ranks #66,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sha vs shut
Shared letters: hs. Private to "sha": a. Private to "shut": tu.
"sha" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- shut ← shhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sha" for "shut" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "sha" or "shut" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "shut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sha" and "shut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schütt vs shut". 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 #66,876 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.