SchildervsSchimmerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,558
“Schilder” frequency rank
#16,538
“Schimmer” frequency rank
27096
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schilder Schimmer
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schild matter Lichtschein, schwacher Glanz

Where the eye mixes Schilder and Schimmer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Schilder and Schimmer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Schilder
8 ch
Schimmer

Why the eye confuses Schilder with Schimmer

A purely visual mix-up. Schilder ([ˈʃɪldɐ]) and Schimmer ([ˈʃɪmɐ]) 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 27096, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schilder is recorded at frequency rank #10,558, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪldɐ]. Schimmer is at rank #16,538, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪmɐ].

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 27096, this pair ranks #1,807,424 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schilder vs Schimmer

Shared letters: cehirs. Private to "Schilder": dl. Private to "Schimmer": m.

"Schilder" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schimmer" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schilder ← cshilder · scchilder · schhilder · schidler · schildder · schilderr · schildre · schiledr
  • Schimmer ← cshimmer · scchimmer · schhimmer · schimemr · schimer · schimmerr · schimmre · schmimer

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schilder" for "Schimmer" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɪldɐ] versus [ˈʃɪmɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schilder" or "Schimmer"?
"Schilder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,558 in our German list, against #16,538 for "Schimmer". 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 "Schilder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schimmer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,807,424 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schilder" and "Schimmer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schimmer vs Schlemmer". 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 #1,807,424 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