SchuldvsSchulzeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#999
“Schuld” frequency rank
#9,089
“Schulze” frequency rank
10088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schuld Schulze
Definition Verbindlichkeit, Pflicht, etwas zu tun oder zu unterlassen in früheren Jahrhunderten Vorsteher eines Dorfes, der die Abgaben für den Grundherrn einforderte

Where the eye mixes Schuld and Schulze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Schuld
7 ch
Schulze

Why the eye confuses Schuld with Schulze

A purely visual mix-up. Schuld ([ʃʊlt]) and Schulze ([ˈʃʊlt͡sə]) 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 10088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schuld is recorded at frequency rank #999, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃʊlt]. 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 10088, this pair ranks #1,976,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schuld vs Schulze

Shared letters: chlsu. Private to "Schuld": d. Private to "Schulze": ez.

"Schuld" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Schulze" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schuldcshuld · scchuld · schhuld · schlud · schudl · schuldd · schulld · scuhld
  • Schulzecshulze · scchulze · schhulze · schluze · schulez · schullze · schulzze · schuzle

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schuld" and "Schulze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃʊlt] versus [ˈʃʊlt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Schuld" or "Schulze" show up more?
"Schuld" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #999 in our German list, against #9,089 for "Schulze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schuld" 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 #1,976,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schuld" and "Schulze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schulze vs Schurke". 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 #1,976,862 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