Which to use
“Shop” is a noun and “shut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,614
- “Shop” frequency rank
- #47,728
- “shut” frequency rank
- 50342
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Shop | shut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleineres Einzelhandelsgeschäft; Räumlichkeiten, in denen Waren zum Verkauf angeboten und verkauft werden | schließen |
Where the eye mixes Shop and shut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Shop with shut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Shop is [ʃɔp] while shut is [ʃʌt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50342, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Shop is recorded at frequency rank #2,614, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃɔp]. 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 50342, this pair ranks #1,177,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Shop vs shut
Shared letters: hs. Private to "Shop": op. Private to "shut": tu.
"Shop" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Shop" for "shut" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Shop" or "shut" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Shop" 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 #1,177,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Shop" 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 #1,177,375 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.