schielevsSchillWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#38,389
“schiele” frequency rank
#39,612
“Schill” frequency rank
78001
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schiele Schill
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schielen andere Bezeichnung für den Zander, einen im Süßwasser lebenden Raubfisch aus der Familie der Barsche. Der taxonomische Name lautet Stizostedion lucioperca.

Where the eye mixes schiele and Schill

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

7 ch
schiele
6 ch
Schill

Why the eye confuses schiele with Schill

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schiele is [ˈʃiːlə] while Schill is [ʃɪl]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78001, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schiele is recorded at frequency rank #38,389, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃiːlə]. Schill is at rank #39,612, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃɪl].

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 78001, this pair ranks #248,039 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schiele vs Schill

Shared letters: chils. Private to "schiele": e. Private to "Schill": -.

"schiele" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCV  ·  "Schill" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schielecshiele · scchiele · scheile · schhiele · schieel · schielle · schilee · scihele
  • Schillcshill · scchill · schhill · schil · schlil · scihll · shcill · sschill

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schiele" and "Schill" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schiele" is a verb and "Schill" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schiele" or "Schill"?
"schiele" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,389 in our German list, against #39,612 for "Schill". 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 "schiele" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schill" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #248,039 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schiele" and "Schill" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiele vs Schmiere". 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 #248,039 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