SkatvsskateWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#44,227
“Skat” frequency rank
#45,585
“skate” frequency rank
89812
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Skat skate
Definition Kartenspiel für drei Personen, bei dem in jeder Runde ein Spieler bestimmt wird, der gegen die beiden anderen spielt 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs skaten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Skat and skate apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Skat
5 ch
skate

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Skat is [skaːt] while skate is [ˈskɛɪ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Skat” sits inside “skate”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89812, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Skat is recorded at frequency rank #44,227, classified as anoun, pronounced [skaːt]. skate is at rank #45,585, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈskɛɪ̯tə].

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 89812, this pair ranks #53,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Skat vs skate

Shared letters: akst. Private to "Skat": -. Private to "skate": e.

"Skat" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "skate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Skatksat · sakt · skatt · skkat · skta · sskat
  • skatesakte · skaet · skatte · skkate · sktae · sskate

Frequency comparison

Skat#44,227
skate#45,585

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Skat" and "skate" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Skat" is a noun and "skate" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Skat" or "skate"?
"Skat" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,227 in our German list, against #45,585 for "skate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Skat vs skate

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Skat”; for a verb, it's “skate”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Skat” 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