SchlägevsschlugTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#9,450
“Schläge” frequency rank
#2,786
“schlug” frequency rank
12236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schläge schlug
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schlag 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schlagen

Where the eye mixes Schläge and schlug

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schläge runs 7 letters (CCCCVCV) against schlug's 6 (CCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Schläge
6 ch
schlug

Visual trap between Schläge and schlug

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schläge is [ˈʃlɛːɡə] while schlug is [ʃluːk]. 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 12236, 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]. schlug is at rank #2,786, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃluːk].

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 12236, this pair ranks #1,965,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schläge vs schlug

Shared letters: cghls. Private to "Schläge": eä. Private to "schlug": u.

"Schläge" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV  ·  "schlug" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlug ← cshlug · scchlug · schhlug · schlgu · schllug · schlugg · schulg · sclhug

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schläge" and "schlug" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schläge" is a noun and "schlug" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schläge" or "schlug"?
"schlug" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,786 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.

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 "Schläge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlug" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,965,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schläge" and "schlug" 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 #1,965,401 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