Which to use
“schade” is an adjective and “schulde” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,431
- “schade” frequency rank
- #44,206
- “schulde” frequency rank
- 45637
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schade | schulde |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu bedauern, nicht erfreulich (seiend); traurig stimmend; zum Leidwesen, Schaden (seiend) | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schulden |
Where the eye mixes schade and schulde
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schade vs schulde
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schade is [ˈʃaːdə] while schulde is [ˈʃʊldə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schade is recorded at frequency rank #1,431, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃaːdə]. schulde is at rank #44,206, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʊldə].
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 45637, this pair ranks #1,346,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schade vs schulde
Shared letters: cdehs. Private to "schade": a. Private to "schulde": lu.
"schade" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "schulde" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schade" and "schulde" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "schade" or "schulde" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schulde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,346,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schade" and "schulde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schulde vs Schurke". 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 #1,346,244 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.