Which to use
“Schlag” is a noun and “schlau” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,071
- “Schlag” frequency rank
- #5,301
- “schlau” frequency rank
- 8372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schlag | schlau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine starke, impulsartige Krafteinwirkung, meist vermittelt durch einen Gegenstand | um Wege wissend, seine Ziele (dennoch) zu erreichen |
Where the eye mixes Schlag and schlau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schlag (CCCCVC) and schlau (CCCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Schlag and schlau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schlag is [ʃlaːk] while schlau is [ʃlaʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “Schlag” becomes u in “schlau”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schlag is recorded at frequency rank #3,071, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃlaːk]. schlau is at rank #5,301, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃlaʊ̯].
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 8372, this pair ranks #1,984,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schlag vs schlau
Shared letters: achls. Private to "Schlag": g. Private to "schlau": u.
"Schlag" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC · "schlau" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Schlag" and "schlau" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Schlag" or "schlau" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schlag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schlau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schlag" and "schlau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlau vs scholar". 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 #1,984,546 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.