SchlägevsschlagenConfusable pair

Quick tell: Schläge is a noun, schlagen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schläge” is a noun and “schlagen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,450
“Schläge” frequency rank
#1,902
“schlagen” frequency rank
11352
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schläge schlagen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schlag heftige, starke Bewegung, mit dem Ziel etwas oder jemanden zu treffen

Where the eye mixes Schläge and schlagen

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

7 ch
Schläge
8 ch
schlagen

Why the eye confuses Schläge with schlagen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schläge is [ˈʃlɛːɡə] while schlagen is [ˈʃlaːɡn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schläge is recorded at frequency rank #9,450, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɛːɡə]. schlagen is at rank #1,902, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlaːɡn̩].

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 11352, this pair ranks #1,970,339 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schläge vs schlagen

Shared letters: ceghls. Private to "Schläge": ä. Private to "schlagen": an.

"Schläge" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV  ·  "schlagen" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlagencshlagen · scchlagen · schalgen · schhlagen · schlaegn · schlagenn · schlaggen · schlagne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schläge" for "schlagen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schläge" is a noun and "schlagen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Schläge" or "schlagen" show up more?
"schlagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,902 in our German list, against #9,450 for "Schläge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schläge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,970,339 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schläge" and "schlagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schläfer vs Schläge". 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 #1,970,339 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