Which to use
“schmelze” is a verb and “Schulze” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,009
- “schmelze” frequency rank
- #9,089
- “Schulze” frequency rank
- 45098
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schmelze | Schulze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schmelzen | in früheren Jahrhunderten Vorsteher eines Dorfes, der die Abgaben für den Grundherrn einforderte |
Where the eye mixes schmelze and Schulze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schmelze runs 8 letters (CCCCVCCV) against Schulze's 7 (CCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: schmelze vs Schulze
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schmelze is [ˈʃmɛlt͡sə] while Schulze is [ˈʃʊlt͡sə]. 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 45098, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schmelze is recorded at frequency rank #36,009, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃmɛlt͡sə]. Schulze is at rank #9,089, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊlt͡sə].
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 45098, this pair ranks #1,364,548 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schmelze vs Schulze
Shared letters: cehlsz. Private to "schmelze": m. Private to "Schulze": u.
"schmelze" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV · "Schulze" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schmelze" for "Schulze" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schmelze" vs "Schulze" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schmelze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schulze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,364,548 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schmelze" and "Schulze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiele vs schmelze". 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 #1,364,548 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.