Which to use
“schlecht” is an adjective and “schleift” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #649
- “schlecht” frequency rank
- #48,451
- “schleift” frequency rank
- 49100
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlecht | schleift |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht den Anforderungen oder Erwartungen entsprechend, weil mit Mängeln behaftet | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schleifen |
Where the eye mixes schlecht and schleift
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schlecht vs schleift
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlecht is [ʃlɛçt] while schleift is [ʃlaɪ̯ft]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schlecht is recorded at frequency rank #649, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃlɛçt]. schleift is at rank #48,451, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃlaɪ̯ft].
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 49100, this pair ranks #1,224,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schlecht vs schleift
Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlecht": -. Private to "schleift": fi.
"schlecht" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC · "schleift" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schlecht" for "schleift" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schlecht" vs "schleift" - which ranks higher?
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 "schlecht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schleift" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,224,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlecht" and "schleift" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schleift vs Schweif". 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 #1,224,081 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.