schlappevsschleppenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schlappe is a adjective, schleppen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schlappe” is an adjective and “schleppen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,380
“schlappe” frequency rank
#14,922
“schleppen” frequency rank
43302
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlappe schleppen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schlapp schwer tragen, so dass man sich sehr dabei anstrengt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schlappe and schleppen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
schlappe
9 ch
schleppen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlappe is [ˈʃlapə] while schleppen is [ˈʃlɛpn̩]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlappe is recorded at frequency rank #28,380, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlapə]. schleppen is at rank #14,922, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɛpn̩].

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 43302, this pair ranks #1,422,320 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schlappe vs schleppen

Shared letters: cehlps. Private to "schlappe": a. Private to "schleppen": n.

"schlappe" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV  ·  "schleppen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlappecshlappe · scchlappe · schalppe · schhlappe · schlape · schlapep · schllappe · schlpape
  • schleppencshleppen · scchleppen · schelppen · schhleppen · schlepen · schlepepn · schleppenn · schleppne

Frequency comparison

schlappe#28,380
schleppen#14,922

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlappe" and "schleppen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schlappe" is an adjective and "schleppen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schlappe" or "schleppen"?
"schleppen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,922 in our German list, against #28,380 for "schlappe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schlappe vs schleppen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “schlappe”; for a verb, it's “schleppen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schlappe” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list