SchildervsSchuldnerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,558
“Schilder” frequency rank
#18,691
“Schuldner” frequency rank
29249
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schilder Schuldner
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schild Person oder Organisation, die einem Gläubiger Geld schuldet

Where the eye mixes Schilder and Schuldner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Schilder
9 ch
Schuldner

Why the eye confuses Schilder with Schuldner

A purely visual mix-up. Schilder ([ˈʃɪldɐ]) and Schuldner ([ˈʃʊldnɐ]) 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 29249, 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]. Schuldner is at rank #18,691, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊldnɐ].

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 29249, this pair ranks #1,770,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schilder vs Schuldner

Shared letters: cdehlrs. Private to "Schilder": i. Private to "Schuldner": nu.

"Schilder" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schuldner" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schildercshilder · scchilder · schhilder · schidler · schildder · schilderr · schildre · schiledr
  • Schuldnercshuldner · scchuldner · schhuldner · schludner · schudlner · schulddner · schuldenr · schuldnerr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schilder" for "Schuldner" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɪldɐ] versus [ˈʃʊldnɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schilder" vs "Schuldner" - which ranks higher?
"Schilder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,558 in our German list, against #18,691 for "Schuldner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "Schuldner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,770,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schilder" and "Schuldner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schulde vs Schuldner". 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 #1,770,358 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