schuldevsSchulzeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#44,206
“schulde” frequency rank
#9,089
“Schulze” frequency rank
53295
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schulde Schulze
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schulden in früheren Jahrhunderten Vorsteher eines Dorfes, der die Abgaben für den Grundherrn einforderte

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
schulde
7 ch
Schulze

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schulde is [ˈʃʊldə] while Schulze is [ˈʃʊlt͡sə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “schulde” becomes z in “Schulze”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53295, 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]. 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 53295, this pair ranks #1,063,604 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schulde vs Schulze

Shared letters: cehlsu. Private to "schulde": d. Private to "Schulze": z.

"schulde" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schulze" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schuldecshulde · scchulde · schhulde · schlude · schudle · schuldde · schuled · schullde
  • Schulzecshulze · scchulze · schhulze · schluze · schulez · schullze · schulzze · schuzle

Frequency comparison

schulde#44,206
Schulze#9,089

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schulde" and "Schulze" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schulde" is a verb and "Schulze" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schulde" or "Schulze"?
"Schulze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,089 in our German list, against #44,206 for "schulde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schulde vs Schulze

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 “Schulze”.
  • 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