shutvsstautWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set shut and staut apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
shut
5 ch
staut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • shutshhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht
  • stautsatut · sstaut · statu · stautt · sttaut · stuat · tsaut

Frequency comparison

shut#47,728
staut#39,044

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "shut" and "staut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃʌt] versus [ʃtaʊ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "shut" or "staut"?
"staut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,044 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 staut

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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