SchaltervsSchilderWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,623
“Schalter” frequency rank
#10,558
“Schilder” frequency rank
20181
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schalter Schilder
Definition elektrisches Bauelement zur Herstellung oder Unterbrechung einer elektrischen Verbindung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schild

Where the eye mixes Schalter and Schilder

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Schalter
8 ch
Schilder

Why the eye confuses Schalter with Schilder

A purely visual mix-up. Schalter ([ˈʃaltɐ]) and Schilder ([ˈʃɪldɐ]) 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 20181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schalter is recorded at frequency rank #9,623, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaltɐ]. Schilder is at rank #10,558, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪldɐ].

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 20181, this pair ranks #1,900,418 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schalter vs Schilder

Shared letters: cehlrs. Private to "Schalter": at. Private to "Schilder": di.

"Schalter" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schilder" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schaltercshalter · scahlter · scchalter · schaletr · schallter · schalterr · schaltre · schaltter
  • Schildercshilder · scchilder · schhilder · schidler · schildder · schilderr · schildre · schiledr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schalter" and "Schilder" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaltɐ] versus [ˈʃɪldɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Schalter" or "Schilder" show up more?
"Schalter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,623 in our German list, against #10,558 for "Schilder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schalter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schilder" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,900,418 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schalter" and "Schilder" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schauder vs Schilder". 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 #1,900,418 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