SchulzvsSchulzeWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Schulz is a name, Schulze is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schulz” is a name and “Schulze” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,412
“Schulz” frequency rank
#9,089
“Schulze” frequency rank
11501
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schulz Schulze
Definition deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname in früheren Jahrhunderten Vorsteher eines Dorfes, der die Abgaben für den Grundherrn einforderte

Where the eye mixes Schulz and Schulze

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

6 ch
Schulz
7 ch
Schulze

Why the eye confuses Schulz with Schulze

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schulz is [ʃʊlt͡s] while Schulze is [ˈʃʊlt͡sə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Schulz” sits inside “Schulze”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schulz is recorded at frequency rank #2,412, classified as aname, pronounced [ʃʊlt͡s]. 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 11501, this pair ranks #1,969,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schulz vs Schulze

Shared letters: chlsuz. Private to "Schulz": -. Private to "Schulze": e.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schulzcshulz · scchulz · schhulz · schluz · schullz · schulzz · schuzl · scuhlz
  • Schulzecshulze · scchulze · schhulze · schluze · schulez · schullze · schulzze · schuzle

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schulz" for "Schulze" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schulz" is a name and "Schulze" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Schulz" vs "Schulze" - which ranks higher?
"Schulz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,412 in our German list, against #9,089 for "Schulze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Schulz" and "Schulze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schulz" 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 #1,969,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schulz" 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 #1,969,560 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