Which to use
“schlecht” is an adjective and “schlichte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #649
- “schlecht” frequency rank
- #16,275
- “schlichte” frequency rank
- 16924
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlecht | schlichte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht den Anforderungen oder Erwartungen entsprechend, weil mit Mängeln behaftet | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schlichten |
Where the eye mixes schlecht and schlichte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schlecht with schlichte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlecht is [ʃlɛçt] while schlichte is [ˈʃlɪçtə]. 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 16924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schlecht is recorded at frequency rank #649, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃlɛçt]. schlichte is at rank #16,275, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtə].
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 16924, this pair ranks #1,931,894 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schlecht vs schlichte
Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlecht": -. Private to "schlichte": i.
"schlecht" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC · "schlichte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schlecht" and "schlichte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schlecht" or "schlichte" show up more?
What to do next
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 "schlichte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,931,894 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlecht" and "schlichte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schliche vs schlichte". 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 #1,931,894 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.