SchildevsSchmiedeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,693
“Schilde” frequency rank
#17,401
“Schmiede” frequency rank
41094
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schilde Schmiede
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schild Ort oder Werkstatt, ausgestattet mit einer oder mehreren Schmiedefeuern, Essen, Blasebälgen und Werkzeugen zum Zwecke der Metallbearbeitung, wie zum Beispiel dem Amboss; hier gehen Schmiede ihrem Handwerk nach

Where the eye mixes Schilde and Schmiede

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

7 ch
Schilde
8 ch
Schmiede

Why the eye confuses Schilde with Schmiede

A purely visual mix-up. Schilde ([ˈʃɪldə]) and Schmiede ([ˈʃmiːdə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41094, 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]. Schmiede is at rank #17,401, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃmiːdə].

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 41094, this pair ranks #1,489,548 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schilde vs Schmiede

Shared letters: cdehis. Private to "Schilde": l. Private to "Schmiede": m.

"Schilde" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schmiede" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schildecshilde · scchilde · schhilde · schidle · schildde · schiled · schillde · schlide
  • Schmiedecshmiede · scchmiede · schhmiede · schimede · schmeide · schmidee · schmiedde · schmieed

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schilde" and "Schmiede" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɪldə] versus [ˈʃmiːdə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schilde" or "Schmiede"?
"Schmiede" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,401 in our German list, against #23,693 for "Schilde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schilde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schmiede" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,489,548 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schilde" and "Schmiede" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schilde vs schrille". 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 #1,489,548 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