schaltevsschuldeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#14,917
“schalte” frequency rank
#44,206
“schulde” frequency rank
59123
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schalte schulde
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schalten 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schulden

Where the eye mixes schalte and schulde

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

7 ch
schalte
7 ch
schulde

Visual trap between schalte and schulde

A purely visual mix-up. schalte ([ˈʃaltə]) and schulde ([ˈʃʊldə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59123, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schalte is recorded at frequency rank #14,917, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaltə]. 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 59123, this pair ranks #836,412 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schalte vs schulde

Shared letters: cehls. Private to "schalte": at. Private to "schulde": du.

"schalte" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "schulde" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schaltecshalte · scahlte · scchalte · schalet · schallte · schatle · schhalte · schlate
  • schuldecshulde · scchulde · schhulde · schlude · schudle · schuldde · schuled · schullde

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schalte" and "schulde" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaltə] versus [ˈʃʊldə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schalte" or "schulde"?
"schalte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,917 in our German list, against #44,206 for "schulde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "schalte" and "schulde" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schalte" 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 #836,412 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schalte" 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 #836,412 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list