Which to use
“schlecht” is an adjective and “schleppt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #649
- “schlecht” frequency rank
- #29,771
- “schleppt” frequency rank
- 30420
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlecht | schleppt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht den Anforderungen oder Erwartungen entsprechend, weil mit Mängeln behaftet | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schleppen |
Where the eye mixes schlecht and schleppt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schlecht vs schleppt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlecht is [ʃlɛçt] while schleppt is [ʃlɛpt]. 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 30420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schlecht is recorded at frequency rank #649, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃlɛçt]. schleppt is at rank #29,771, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃlɛpt].
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 30420, this pair ranks #1,748,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schlecht vs schleppt
Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlecht": -. Private to "schleppt": p.
"schlecht" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC · "schleppt" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schlecht" for "schleppt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "schlecht" or "schleppt" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schlecht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schleppt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,748,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlecht" and "schleppt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schleift vs schleppt". 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 #1,748,179 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.