Which to use
“shut” and “spuk” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,728
- “shut” frequency rank
- #27,498
- “spuk” frequency rank
- 75226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shut | spuk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schließen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spuken |
Where the eye mixes shut and spuk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses shut with spuk
A purely visual mix-up. shut ([ʃʌt]) and spuk ([ʃpuːk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75226, 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]. spuk is at rank #27,498, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpuːk].
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 75226, this pair ranks #313,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of shut vs spuk
Shared letters: su. Private to "shut": ht. Private to "spuk": kp.
"shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "spuk" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "shut" and "spuk" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "shut" vs "spuk" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "shut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spuk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shut" and "spuk" 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 #313,306 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.