Which to use
“shut” and “staut” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,728
- “shut” frequency rank
- #39,044
- “staut” frequency rank
- 86772
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shut | staut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schließen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stauen |
Where the eye mixes shut and staut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. shut runs 4 letters (CCVC) against staut's 5 (CCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: shut vs staut
A purely visual mix-up. shut ([ʃʌt]) and staut ([ʃtaʊ̯t]) 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 86772, 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]. staut is at rank #39,044, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtaʊ̯t].
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 86772, this pair ranks #89,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of shut vs staut
Shared letters: stu. Private to "shut": h. Private to "staut": a.
"shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "staut" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "shut" for "staut" ever safe?
Frequency check: "shut" vs "staut" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "staut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #89,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shut" and "staut" 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 #89,207 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.