Which to use
“schleichen” is a verb and “schleichende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,763
- “schleichen” frequency rank
- #44,198
- “schleichende” frequency rank
- 65961
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schleichen | schleichende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lautlos gehen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schleichend |
Where the eye mixes schleichen and schleichende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. schleichen runs 10 letters (CCCCVVCCVC) against schleichende's 12 (CCCCVVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between schleichen and schleichende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schleichen is [ˈʃlaɪ̯çn̩] while schleichende is [ˈʃlaɪ̯çn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “schleichen” sits inside “schleichende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schleichen is recorded at frequency rank #21,763, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlaɪ̯çn̩]. schleichende is at rank #44,198, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlaɪ̯çn̩də].
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 65961, this pair ranks #589,164 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schleichen vs schleichende
Shared letters: cehilns. Private to "schleichen": -. Private to "schleichende": d.
"schleichen" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVVCCVC · "schleichende" · 12 letters · shape CCCCVVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- schleichen ← cshleichen · scchleichen · schelichen · schhleichen · schlecihen · schleicchen · schleicehn · schleichenn
- schleichende ← cshleichende · scchleichende · schelichende · schhleichende · schlecihende · schleicchende · schleicehnde · schleichedne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schleichen" for "schleichende" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schleichen" vs "schleichende" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schleichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schleichende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #589,164 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schleichen" and "schleichende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schleichend vs schleichende". 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 #589,164 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.