SchuldenvsSchuppenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,150
“Schulden” frequency rank
#10,167
“Schuppen” frequency rank
13317
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schulden Schuppen
Definition die gesamten Verpflichtungen (Passiva) einer Person oder einer Firma, die dem vorhandenen Vermögen (Aktiva) gegenüber stehen Hütte, Lagerraum für Gerätschaften oder Vorräte

Where the eye mixes Schulden and Schuppen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Schulden and Schuppen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Schulden
8 ch
Schuppen

Why the eye confuses Schulden with Schuppen

A purely visual mix-up. Schulden ([ˈʃʊldn̩]) and Schuppen ([ˈʃʊpn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13317, 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]. Schuppen is at rank #10,167, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊpn̩].

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 13317, this pair ranks #1,958,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schulden vs Schuppen

Shared letters: cehnsu. Private to "Schulden": dl. Private to "Schuppen": p.

"Schulden" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schuppen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schulden ← cshulden · scchulden · schhulden · schluden · schudlen · schuldden · schuldenn · schuldne
  • Schuppen ← cshuppen · scchuppen · schhuppen · schpupen · schupen · schupepn · schuppenn · schuppne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schulden" for "Schuppen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃʊldn̩] versus [ˈʃʊpn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schulden" or "Schuppen"?
"Schulden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,150 in our German list, against #10,167 for "Schuppen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schuppen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schulden" and "Schuppen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schellen vs Schulden". 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 #1,958,746 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