shutvsSkatWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: shut is a verb, Skat is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“shut” is a verb and “Skat” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,728
“shut” frequency rank
#44,227
“Skat” frequency rank
91955
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature shut Skat
Definition schließen Kartenspiel für drei Personen, bei dem in jeder Runde ein Spieler bestimmt wird, der gegen die beiden anderen spielt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set shut and Skat apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
shut
4 ch
Skat

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shut is [ʃʌt] while Skat is [skaːt]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 91955, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

shut is recorded at frequency rank #47,728, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃʌt]. Skat is at rank #44,227, tagged as anoun, pronounced [skaːt].

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 91955, this pair ranks #33,633 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of shut vs Skat

Shared letters: st. Private to "shut": hu. Private to "Skat": ak.

"shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Skat" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • shutshhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht
  • Skatksat · sakt · skatt · skkat · skta · sskat

Frequency comparison

shut#47,728
Skat#44,227

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "shut" and "Skat" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "shut" is a verb and "Skat" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "shut" or "Skat"?
"Skat" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,227 in our German list, against #47,728 for "shut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering shut vs Skat

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “shut”; for a noun, it's “Skat”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “shut” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list