schlechtervsschlichtesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,411
“schlechter” frequency rank
#41,448
“schlichtes” frequency rank
43859
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes schlechter and schlichtes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. schlechter and schlichtes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
schlechter
10 ch
schlichtes

Why the eye confuses schlechter with schlichtes

A purely visual mix-up. schlechter ([ˈʃlɛçtɐ]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43859, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlechter is recorded at frequency rank #2,411, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɛçtɐ]. 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 43859, this pair ranks #1,404,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schlechter vs schlichtes

Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlechter": r. Private to "schlichtes": i.

"schlechter" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC  ·  "schlichtes" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlechter ← cshlechter · scchlechter · schelchter · schhlechter · schlcehter · schlecchter · schlechetr · schlechhter
  • schlichtes ← cshlichtes · scchlichtes · schhlichtes · schilchtes · schlcihtes · schlicchtes · schlichets · schlichhtes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schlechter" for "schlichtes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃlɛçtɐ] versus [ˈʃlɪçtəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schlechter" vs "schlichtes" - which ranks higher?
"schlechter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,411 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlechter" 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 #1,404,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlechter" 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 #1,404,661 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