SchultervsSchulwegConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,158
“Schulter” frequency rank
#33,805
“Schulweg” frequency rank
37963
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schulter Schulweg
Definition Körperregion bei Wirbeltieren zwischen Halsansatz und den Schultergelenken Weg eines Schülers zur Schule

Where the eye mixes Schulter and Schulweg

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

8 ch
Schulter
8 ch
Schulweg

Visual trap between Schulter and Schulweg

A purely visual mix-up. Schulter ([ˈʃʊltɐ]) and Schulweg ([ˈʃuːlˌveːk]) 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 37963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schulter is recorded at frequency rank #4,158, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃʊltɐ]. Schulweg is at rank #33,805, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃuːlˌveːk].

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 37963, this pair ranks #1,576,475 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schulter vs Schulweg

Shared letters: cehlsu. Private to "Schulter": rt. Private to "Schulweg": gw.

"Schulter" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schulweg" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schulter ← cshulter · scchulter · schhulter · schluter · schuletr · schullter · schulterr · schultre
  • Schulweg ← cshulweg · scchulweg · schhulweg · schluweg · schulewg · schullweg · schulwegg · schulwge

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schulter" and "Schulweg" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃʊltɐ] versus [ˈʃuːlˌveːk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schulter" or "Schulweg"?
"Schulter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,158 in our German list, against #33,805 for "Schulweg". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulweg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,576,475 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schulter" and "Schulweg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schulde vs Schulweg". 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 #1,576,475 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