SchuldvsschuldetWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schuld is a noun, schuldet is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schuld” is a noun and “schuldet” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#999
“Schuld” frequency rank
#27,480
“schuldet” frequency rank
28479
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schuld schuldet
Definition Verbindlichkeit, Pflicht, etwas zu tun oder zu unterlassen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schulden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schuld and schuldet apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Schuld
8 ch
schuldet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Schuld and schuldet form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Schuld” sits inside “schuldet” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schuld is recorded at frequency rank #999, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃʊlt]. schuldet is at rank #27,480, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʊldət].

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 28479, this pair ranks #1,784,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

Schuld#999
schuldet#27,480

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schuld" and "schuldet" be used interchangeably?
No, "Schuld" and "schuldet" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering Schuld vs schuldet

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schuld”; for a verb, it's “schuldet”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schuld” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list