schlankvsSchlundTell them apart

Quick tell: schlank is a adjective, Schlund is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schlank” is an adjective and “Schlund” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,626
“schlank” frequency rank
#41,450
“Schlund” frequency rank
51076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlank Schlund
Definition in der Form schmal, nicht breit Übergang von Mundhöhle zur Speiseröhre

Where the eye mixes schlank and Schlund

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. schlank and Schlund follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
schlank
7 ch
Schlund

Why the eye confuses schlank with Schlund

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlank is [ʃlaŋk] while Schlund is [ʃlʊnt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51076, 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]. Schlund is at rank #41,450, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃlʊnt].

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 51076, this pair ranks #1,149,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schlank vs Schlund

Shared letters: chlns. Private to "schlank": ak. Private to "Schlund": du.

"schlank" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC  ·  "Schlund" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlank ← cshlank · scchlank · schalnk · schhlank · schlakn · schlankk · schlannk · schllank
  • Schlund ← cshlund · scchlund · schhlund · schllund · schlnud · schludn · schlundd · schlunnd

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schlank" and "Schlund" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schlank" is an adjective and "Schlund" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schlank" or "Schlund"?
"schlank" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,626 in our German list, against #41,450 for "Schlund". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "schlank" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schlund" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,149,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlank" and "Schlund" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlund vs Schwund". 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 #1,149,413 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