Which to use
“schlechte” and “schlechtere” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,784
- “schlechte” frequency rank
- #18,689
- “schlechtere” frequency rank
- 20473
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlechte | schlechtere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schlecht | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs schlecht |
Where the eye mixes schlechte and schlechtere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. schlechte runs 9 letters (CCCCVCCCV) against schlechtere's 11 (CCCCVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between schlechte and schlechtere
A purely visual mix-up. schlechte ([ˈʃlɛçtə]) and schlechtere ([ˈʃlɛçtəʁə]) 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) - “schlechte” sits inside “schlechtere”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schlechte is recorded at frequency rank #1,784, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɛçtə]. schlechtere is at rank #18,689, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɛçtəʁə].
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 20473, this pair ranks #1,897,274 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schlechte vs schlechtere
Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlechte": -. Private to "schlechtere": r.
"schlechte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV · "schlechtere" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- schlechte ← cshlechte · scchlechte · schelchte · schhlechte · schlcehte · schlecchte · schlechet · schlechhte
- schlechtere ← cshlechtere · scchlechtere · schelchtere · schhlechtere · schlcehtere · schlecchtere · schlechetre · schlechhtere
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schlechte" and "schlechtere" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schlechte" vs "schlechtere" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schlechte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schlechtere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,897,274 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlechte" and "schlechtere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlachter vs schlechtere". 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 #1,897,274 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.