schickevsSchminkeConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#6,720
“schicke” frequency rank
#27,042
“Schminke” frequency rank
33762
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schicke Schminke
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schick Substanz oder Produkt zur farblichen Gestaltung von Haut, Augen oder Gesicht

Where the eye mixes schicke and Schminke

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

7 ch
schicke
8 ch
Schminke

Visual trap between schicke and Schminke

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schicke is [ˈʃɪkə] while Schminke is [ˈʃmɪŋkə]. 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 33762, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schicke is recorded at frequency rank #6,720, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃɪkə]. Schminke is at rank #27,042, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃmɪŋkə].

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 33762, this pair ranks #1,678,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schicke vs Schminke

Shared letters: cehiks. Private to "schicke": -. Private to "Schminke": mn.

"schicke" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schminke" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schickecshicke · scchicke · schcike · schhicke · schiccke · schicek · schickke · schikce
  • Schminkecshminke · scchminke · schhminke · schimnke · schmikne · schminek · schminkke · schminnke

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schicke" and "Schminke" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schicke" is an adjective and "Schminke" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "schicke" or "Schminke" show up more?
"schicke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,720 in our German list, against #27,042 for "Schminke". 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 "schicke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schminke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,678,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schicke" and "Schminke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schminke vs schwanke". 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 #1,678,654 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