SchultevsSchulzTell them apart

Which to use

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

#15,204
“Schulte” frequency rank
#2,412
“Schulz” frequency rank
17616
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schulte Schulz
Definition deutscher Nachname, Familienname deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname

Where the eye mixes Schulte and Schulz

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

7 ch
Schulte
6 ch
Schulz

Look-alike desk: Schulte vs Schulz

A purely visual mix-up. Schulte ([ˈʃʊltə]) and Schulz ([ʃʊlt͡s]) 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 17616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schulte is recorded at frequency rank #15,204, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈʃʊltə]. Schulz is at rank #2,412, tagged as aname, pronounced [ʃʊlt͡s].

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 17616, this pair ranks #1,925,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schulte vs Schulz

Shared letters: chlsu. Private to "Schulte": et. Private to "Schulz": z.

"Schulte" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schulz" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schultecshulte · scchulte · schhulte · schlute · schulet · schullte · schultte · schutle
  • Schulzcshulz · scchulz · schhulz · schluz · schullz · schulzz · schuzl · scuhlz

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schulte" for "Schulz" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃʊltə] versus [ʃʊlt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schulte" vs "Schulz" - which ranks higher?
"Schulz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,412 in our German list, against #15,204 for "Schulte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,925,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schulte" and "Schulz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schulte 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 #1,925,818 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