Which to use
“shot” and “shut” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,057
- “shot” frequency rank
- #47,728
- “shut” frequency rank
- 68785
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shot | shut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Präteritum (simple past) des Verbs shoot | schließen |
Where the eye mixes shot and shut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: shot vs shut
A purely visual mix-up. shot ([ʃɒt]) 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 a single letter - o in “shot” becomes u in “shut”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shot is recorded at frequency rank #21,057, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃɒt]. 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 68785, this pair ranks #496,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of shot vs shut
Shared letters: hst. Private to "shot": o. Private to "shut": u.
"shot" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "shot" and "shut" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "shot" vs "shut" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shot" 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 #496,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shot" 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 #496,914 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.