Which to use
“shut” and “sum” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,728
- “shut” frequency rank
- #31,289
- “sum” frequency rank
- 79017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shut | sum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schließen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs esse |
Letter map: shut vs sum
Shared letters muted; letters that set shut and sum apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Spelling & dictionary notes on shut vs sum
shut and sum are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79017, 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]. sum is at rank #31,289, tagged as averb, pronounced […].
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 79017, this pair ranks #225,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of shut vs sum
Shared letters: su. Private to "shut": ht. Private to "sum": m.
"shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "sum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- shut ← shhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "shut" for "sum" ever safe?
Which is more common, "shut" or "sum"?
What to do next
Pair "shut" vs "sum" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "shut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shut" and "sum" 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 #225,545 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.