SchandevsschuldeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#5,216
“Schande” frequency rank
#44,206
“schulde” frequency rank
49422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schande schulde
Definition etwas, was jemandem in seinem Ansehen stark schadet 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schulden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schande and schulde apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Schande
7 ch
schulde

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schande is [ˈʃandə] while schulde is [ˈʃʊldə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schande is recorded at frequency rank #5,216, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃandə]. 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 49422, this pair ranks #1,212,134 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schande vs schulde

Shared letters: cdehs. Private to "Schande": an. Private to "schulde": lu.

"Schande" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "schulde" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schandecshande · scahnde · scchande · schandde · schaned · schannde · schhande · schnade
  • schuldecshulde · scchulde · schhulde · schlude · schudle · schuldde · schuled · schullde

Frequency comparison

Schande#5,216
schulde#44,206

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schande" and "schulde" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schande" is a noun and "schulde" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schande" or "schulde"?
"Schande" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,216 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.

Remembering Schande vs schulde

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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