SchildevsSchirmeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,693
“Schilde” frequency rank
#46,960
“Schirme” frequency rank
70653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schilde Schirme
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schild Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schirm

Where the eye mixes Schilde and Schirme

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schilde and Schirme follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Schilde
7 ch
Schirme

Visual trap between Schilde and Schirme

A purely visual mix-up. Schilde ([ˈʃɪldə]) and Schirme ([ˈʃɪʁmə]) 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 70653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schilde is recorded at frequency rank #23,693, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪldə]. Schirme is at rank #46,960, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪʁmə].

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 70653, this pair ranks #439,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Schilde vs Schirme

Shared letters: cehis. Private to "Schilde": dl. Private to "Schirme": mr.

"Schilde" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schirme" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schildecshilde · scchilde · schhilde · schidle · schildde · schiled · schillde · schlide
  • Schirmecshirme · scchirme · schhirme · schimre · schirem · schirmme · schirrme · schrime

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schilde" for "Schirme" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɪldə] versus [ˈʃɪʁmə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schilde" or "Schirme"?
"Schilde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,693 in our German list, against #46,960 for "Schirme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schilde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schirme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #439,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schilde" and "Schirme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schirme 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 #439,818 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