SchuldenvsSchüssenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,150
“Schulden” frequency rank
#24,120
“Schüssen” frequency rank
27270
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schulden Schüssen
Definition die gesamten Verpflichtungen (Passiva) einer Person oder einer Firma, die dem vorhandenen Vermögen (Aktiva) gegenüber stehen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Schuss

Where the eye mixes Schulden and Schüssen

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

Look-alike desk: Schulden vs Schüssen

A purely visual mix-up. Schulden ([ˈʃʊldn̩]) and Schüssen ([ˈʃʏsn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27270, 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]. Schüssen is at rank #24,120, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʏsn̩].

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 27270, this pair ranks #1,804,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schulden vs Schüssen

Shared letters: cehns. Private to "Schulden": dlu. Private to "Schüssen": ü.

"Schulden" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schüssen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schulden ← cshulden · scchulden · schhulden · schluden · schudlen · schuldden · schuldenn · schuldne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schulden" for "Schüssen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃʊldn̩] versus [ˈʃʏsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schulden" or "Schüssen"?
"Schulden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,150 in our German list, against #24,120 for "Schüssen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schüssen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,804,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schulden" and "Schüssen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schmusen vs Schüssen". 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 #1,804,520 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