Which to use
“schlecht” and “schlechter” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #649
- “schlecht” frequency rank
- #2,411
- “schlechter” frequency rank
- 3060
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlecht | schlechter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht den Anforderungen oder Erwartungen entsprechend, weil mit Mängeln behaftet | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schlecht |
Where the eye mixes schlecht and schlechter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schlecht with schlechter
A purely visual mix-up. schlecht ([ʃlɛçt]) and schlechter ([ˈʃlɛçtɐ]) 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) - “schlecht” sits inside “schlechter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schlecht is recorded at frequency rank #649, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃlɛçt]. schlechter is at rank #2,411, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɛçtɐ].
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 3060, this pair ranks #2,001,026 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schlecht vs schlechter
Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlecht": -. Private to "schlechter": r.
"schlecht" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC · "schlechter" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schlecht ← cshlecht · scchlecht · schelcht · schhlecht · schlceht · schleccht · schlechht · schlechtt
- schlechter ← cshlechter · scchlechter · schelchter · schhlechter · schlcehter · schlecchter · schlechetr · schlechhter
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schlecht" and "schlechter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schlecht" or "schlechter" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "schlecht" and "schlechter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schlecht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schlechter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,001,026 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlecht" and "schlechter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schlecht vs schleift". 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 #2,001,026 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.