schlankvsschlankerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,626
“schlank” frequency rank
#24,497
“schlanker” frequency rank
34123
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlank schlanker
Definition in der Form schmal, nicht breit Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schlank

Where the eye mixes schlank and schlanker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schlank runs 7 letters (CCCCVCC) against schlanker's 9 (CCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
schlank
9 ch
schlanker

Look-alike desk: schlank vs schlanker

A purely visual mix-up. schlank ([ʃlaŋk]) and schlanker ([ˈʃlaŋkɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “schlank” sits inside “schlanker”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34123, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlank is recorded at frequency rank #9,626, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃlaŋk]. schlanker is at rank #24,497, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlaŋkɐ].

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 34123, this pair ranks #1,670,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schlank vs schlanker

Shared letters: achklns. Private to "schlank": -. Private to "schlanker": er.

"schlank" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC  ·  "schlanker" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlank ← cshlank · scchlank · schalnk · schhlank · schlakn · schlankk · schlannk · schllank
  • schlanker ← cshlanker · scchlanker · schalnker · schhlanker · schlakner · schlanekr · schlankerr · schlankker

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schlank" and "schlanker" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃlaŋk] versus [ˈʃlaŋkɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schlank" vs "schlanker" - which ranks higher?
"schlank" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,626 in our German list, against #24,497 for "schlanker". 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 "schlank" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlanker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,670,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlank" and "schlanker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlanker 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 #1,670,499 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