SchulevsSchulterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#397
“Schule” frequency rank
#4,158
“Schulter” frequency rank
4555
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schule Schulter
Definition öffentliche oder private Einrichtung/Anstalt für den Unterricht Körperregion bei Wirbeltieren zwischen Halsansatz und den Schultergelenken

Where the eye mixes Schule and Schulter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Schule
8 ch
Schulter

Visual trap between Schule and Schulter

A purely visual mix-up. Schule ([ˈʃuːlə]) and Schulter ([ˈʃʊltɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4555, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schule is recorded at frequency rank #397, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃuːlə]. Schulter is at rank #4,158, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊltɐ].

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 4555, this pair ranks #1,997,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schule vs Schulter

Shared letters: cehlsu. Private to "Schule": -. Private to "Schulter": rt.

"Schule" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV  ·  "Schulter" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schulecshule · scchule · schhule · schlue · schuel · schulle · scuhle · shcule
  • Schultercshulter · scchulter · schhulter · schluter · schuletr · schullter · schulterr · schultre

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schule" and "Schulter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃuːlə] versus [ˈʃʊltɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schule" vs "Schulter" - which ranks higher?
"Schule" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #397 in our German list, against #4,158 for "Schulter". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,997,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schule" and "Schulter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schnuller vs Schulter". 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 #1,997,387 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