schuldevsSchuldenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#44,206
“schulde” frequency rank
#3,150
“Schulden” frequency rank
47356
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schulde Schulden
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schulden die gesamten Verpflichtungen (Passiva) einer Person oder einer Firma, die dem vorhandenen Vermögen (Aktiva) gegenüber stehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schulde and Schulden apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
schulde
8 ch
Schulden

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

schulde and Schulden 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 1 extra letter(s) - “schulde” sits inside “Schulden” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schulde is recorded at frequency rank #44,206, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʊldə]. Schulden is at rank #3,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊldn̩].

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 47356, this pair ranks #1,287,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

schulde#44,206
Schulden#3,150

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schulde" and "Schulden" be used interchangeably?
No, "schulde" and "Schulden" 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 schulde vs Schulden

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schulde”; for a noun, it's “Schulden”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schulde” 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