Which to use
“schleich” and “schleichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,253
- “schleich” frequency rank
- #21,763
- “schleichen” frequency rank
- 54016
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schleich | schleichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schleichen | lautlos gehen |
Where the eye mixes schleich and schleichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schleich and schleichen
A purely visual mix-up. schleich ([ʃlaɪ̯ç]) and schleichen ([ˈʃlaɪ̯çn̩]) 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) - “schleich” sits inside “schleichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54016, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schleich is recorded at frequency rank #32,253, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃlaɪ̯ç]. schleichen is at rank #21,763, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlaɪ̯çn̩].
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 54016, this pair ranks #1,035,376 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schleich vs schleichen
Shared letters: cehils. Private to "schleich": -. Private to "schleichen": n.
"schleich" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVCC · "schleichen" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schleich ← cshleich · scchleich · schelich · schhleich · schlecih · schleicch · schleichh · schleihc
- schleichen ← cshleichen · scchleichen · schelichen · schhleichen · schlecihen · schleicchen · schleicehn · schleichenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schleich" and "schleichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schleich" vs "schleichen" - 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 "schleich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schleichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,035,376 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schleich" and "schleichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schleich vs schleift". 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 #1,035,376 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.