SchuldenvsschuldetWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,150
“Schulden” frequency rank
#27,480
“schuldet” frequency rank
30630
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schulden schuldet
Definition die gesamten Verpflichtungen (Passiva) einer Person oder einer Firma, die dem vorhandenen Vermögen (Aktiva) gegenüber stehen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schulden

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
Schulden
8 ch
schuldet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schulden is [ˈʃʊldn̩] while schuldet is [ˈʃʊldət]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “Schulden” becomes t in “schuldet”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30630, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schulden is recorded at frequency rank #3,150, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊldn̩]. 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 30630, this pair ranks #1,744,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schulden vs schuldet

Shared letters: cdehlsu. Private to "Schulden": n. Private to "schuldet": t.

"Schulden" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "schuldet" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schuldencshulden · scchulden · schhulden · schluden · schudlen · schuldden · schuldenn · schuldne
  • schuldetcshuldet · scchuldet · schhuldet · schludet · schudlet · schulddet · schuldett · schuldte

Frequency comparison

Schulden#3,150
schuldet#27,480

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schulden" and "schuldet" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schulden" is a noun and "schuldet" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schulden" or "schuldet"?
"Schulden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,150 in our German list, against #27,480 for "schuldet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schulden vs schuldet

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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