SchulevsSchulzeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#397
“Schule” frequency rank
#9,089
“Schulze” frequency rank
9486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schule Schulze
Definition öffentliche oder private Einrichtung/Anstalt für den Unterricht in früheren Jahrhunderten Vorsteher eines Dorfes, der die Abgaben für den Grundherrn einforderte

Where the eye mixes Schule and Schulze

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

6 ch
Schule
7 ch
Schulze

Why the eye confuses Schule with Schulze

A purely visual mix-up. Schule ([ˈʃuːlə]) and Schulze ([ˈʃʊlt͡sə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schule is recorded at frequency rank #397, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃuːlə]. 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 9486, this pair ranks #1,979,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schule vs Schulze

Shared letters: cehlsu. Private to "Schule": -. Private to "Schulze": z.

"Schule" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV  ·  "Schulze" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schulecshule · scchule · schhule · schlue · schuel · schulle · scuhle · shcule
  • Schulzecshulze · scchulze · schhulze · schluze · schulez · schullze · schulzze · schuzle

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schule" and "Schulze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃuːlə] versus [ˈʃʊlt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schule" or "Schulze"?
"Schule" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #397 in our German list, against #9,089 for "Schulze". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,979,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schule" and "Schulze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schulze vs Schurke". 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 #1,979,717 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