Which to use
“schlechte” is an adjective and “schleppte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,784
- “schlechte” frequency rank
- #43,468
- “schleppte” frequency rank
- 45252
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlechte | schleppte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schlecht | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schleppen |
Where the eye mixes schlechte and schleppte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schlechte vs schleppte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlechte is [ˈʃlɛçtə] while schleppte is [ˈʃlɛptə]. 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 45252, 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]. schleppte is at rank #43,468, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɛptə].
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 45252, this pair ranks #1,359,390 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schlechte vs schleppte
Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlechte": -. Private to "schleppte": p.
"schlechte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV · "schleppte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schlechte" for "schleppte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schlechte" vs "schleppte" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "schleppte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,359,390 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlechte" and "schleppte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlepptau vs schleppte". 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 #1,359,390 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.