schicktenvsschlichtenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#19,708
“schickten” frequency rank
#13,934
“schlichten” frequency rank
33642
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schickten schlichten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schicken zwischen streitenden Parteien vermitteln, einen Streit entschärfen

Where the eye mixes schickten and schlichten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
schickten
10 ch
schlichten

Visual trap between schickten and schlichten

A purely visual mix-up. schickten ([ˈʃɪktn̩]) and schlichten ([ˈʃlɪçtn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schickten is recorded at frequency rank #19,708, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɪktn̩]. schlichten is at rank #13,934, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtn̩].

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 33642, this pair ranks #1,681,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schickten vs schlichten

Shared letters: cehinst. Private to "schickten": k. Private to "schlichten": l.

"schickten" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC  ·  "schlichten" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schicktencshickten · scchickten · schcikten · schhickten · schicckten · schicketn · schickkten · schicktenn
  • schlichtencshlichten · scchlichten · schhlichten · schilchten · schlcihten · schlicchten · schlichetn · schlichhten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schickten" for "schlichten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɪktn̩] versus [ˈʃlɪçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "schickten" or "schlichten" show up more?
"schlichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,934 in our German list, against #19,708 for "schickten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schickten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,681,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schickten" and "schlichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schickten vs schocken". 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 #1,681,302 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