SchultervsSchusterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,158
“Schulter” frequency rank
#11,122
“Schuster” frequency rank
15280
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schulter Schuster
Definition Körperregion bei Wirbeltieren zwischen Halsansatz und den Schultergelenken Handwerker, der Schuhe herstellt oder repariert

Where the eye mixes Schulter and Schuster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Schulter
8 ch
Schuster

Look-alike desk: Schulter vs Schuster

A purely visual mix-up. Schulter ([ˈʃʊltɐ]) and Schuster ([ˈʃuːstɐ]) 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 a single letter - l in “Schulter” becomes s in “Schuster”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15280, 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]. Schuster is at rank #11,122, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃuːstɐ].

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 15280, this pair ranks #1,945,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schulter vs Schuster

Shared letters: cehrstu. Private to "Schulter": l. Private to "Schuster": -.

"Schulter" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Schuster" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schultercshulter · scchulter · schhulter · schluter · schuletr · schullter · schulterr · schultre
  • Schustercshuster · scchuster · schhuster · schsuter · schusetr · schusster · schusterr · schustre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schulter" for "Schuster" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃʊltɐ] versus [ˈʃuːstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schulter" vs "Schuster" - which ranks higher?
"Schulter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,158 in our German list, against #11,122 for "Schuster". 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 "Schulter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schuster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,945,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schulter" and "Schuster" 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 #1,945,091 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