Which to use
“schleich” is a verb and “Schleier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,253
- “schleich” frequency rank
- #16,540
- “Schleier” frequency rank
- 48793
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schleich | Schleier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schleichen | dünner, halbdurchsichtiger Stoff zur Verhüllung von Kopf/Gesicht (einer Frau) |
Where the eye mixes schleich and Schleier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schleich (CCCCVVCC) and Schleier (CCCCVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between schleich and Schleier
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schleich is [ʃlaɪ̯ç] while Schleier is [ˈʃlaɪ̯ɐ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48793, 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]. Schleier is at rank #16,540, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlaɪ̯ɐ].
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 48793, this pair ranks #1,235,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schleich vs Schleier
Shared letters: cehils. Private to "schleich": -. Private to "Schleier": r.
"schleich" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVCC · "Schleier" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schleich" and "Schleier" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schleich" or "Schleier" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schleich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schleier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,235,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schleich" and "Schleier" 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 #1,235,429 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.