schickvsSchlickWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: schick is a adjective, Schlick is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schick” is an adjective and “Schlick” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,645
“schick” frequency rank
#46,964
“Schlick” frequency rank
51609
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schick Schlick
Definition von Mode und Geschmack zeugend Ablagerung des Meerwassers und des Wassers der Flüsse, in die mit der Flutwelle Meerwasser eindringt; die Wattengebiete bestehen aus starken Schlickschichten.

Where the eye mixes schick and Schlick

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

6 ch
schick
7 ch
Schlick

Visual trap between schick and Schlick

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schick is [ʃɪk] while Schlick is [ʃlɪk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51609, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schick is recorded at frequency rank #4,645, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃɪk]. Schlick is at rank #46,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃlɪk].

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 51609, this pair ranks #1,128,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schick vs Schlick

Shared letters: chiks. Private to "schick": -. Private to "Schlick": l.

"schick" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Schlick" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schickcshick · scchick · schcik · schhick · schicck · schickk · schikc · scihck
  • Schlickcshlick · scchlick · schhlick · schilck · schlcik · schlicck · schlickk · schlikc

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schick" for "Schlick" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schick" is an adjective and "Schlick" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "schick" vs "Schlick" - which ranks higher?
"schick" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,645 in our German list, against #46,964 for "Schlick". 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 "schick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schlick" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,128,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schick" and "Schlick" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlick vs schlucke". 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 #1,128,947 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