schlechtevsschlichtesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“schlechte” and “schlichtes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,784
“schlechte” frequency rank
#41,448
“schlichtes” frequency rank
43232
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlechte schlichtes
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schlecht Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schlicht

Where the eye mixes schlechte and schlichtes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
schlechte
10 ch
schlichtes

Look-alike desk: schlechte vs schlichtes

A purely visual mix-up. schlechte ([ˈʃlɛçtə]) and schlichtes ([ˈʃlɪçtəs]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43232, 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]. schlichtes is at rank #41,448, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtəs].

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 43232, this pair ranks #1,424,561 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schlechte vs schlichtes

Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlechte": -. Private to "schlichtes": i.

"schlechte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV  ·  "schlichtes" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlechtecshlechte · scchlechte · schelchte · schhlechte · schlcehte · schlecchte · schlechet · schlechhte
  • schlichtescshlichtes · scchlichtes · schhlichtes · schilchtes · schlcihtes · schlicchtes · schlichets · schlichhtes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlechte" and "schlichtes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃlɛçtə] versus [ˈʃlɪçtəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schlechte" or "schlichtes"?
"schlechte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,784 in our German list, against #41,448 for "schlichtes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "schlechte" and "schlichtes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlechte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlichtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,424,561 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlechte" and "schlichtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schliche vs schlichtes". 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 #1,424,561 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list