solltvssollteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“sollt” and “sollte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,632
“sollt” frequency rank
#163
“sollte” frequency rank
9795
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sollt sollte
Definition 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sollen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sollen

Where the eye mixes sollt and sollte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
sollt
6 ch
sollte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sollt ([zɔlt]) and sollte ([ˈzɔltə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “sollt” sits inside “sollte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sollt is recorded at frequency rank #9,632, classified as averb, pronounced [zɔlt]. sollte is at rank #163, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔltə].

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 9795, this pair ranks #1,978,261 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sollt vs sollte

Shared letters: lost. Private to "sollt": -. Private to "sollte": e.

"sollt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "sollte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • solltosllt · slolt · solltt · solt · soltl · ssollt
  • sollteosllte · slolte · sollet · solltte · solte · soltle · ssollte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sollt" and "sollte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([zɔlt] versus [ˈzɔltə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sollt" or "sollte"?
"sollte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #163 in our German list, against #9,632 for "sollt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "sollt" and "sollte". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sollt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sollte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,978,261 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sollt" and "sollte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sola vs sollt". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list