Which to use
“schleichen” and “schleifen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,763
- “schleichen” frequency rank
- #13,933
- “schleifen” frequency rank
- 35696
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schleichen | schleifen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lautlos gehen | etwas oder jemanden über eine Oberfläche entlang ziehen oder schleppen |
Where the eye mixes schleichen and schleifen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. schleichen runs 10 letters (CCCCVVCCVC) against schleifen's 9 (CCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses schleichen with schleifen
A purely visual mix-up. schleichen ([ˈʃlaɪ̯çn̩]) and schleifen ([ˈʃlaɪ̯fn̩]) 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 35696, 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]. schleifen is at rank #13,933, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlaɪ̯fn̩].
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 35696, this pair ranks #1,633,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schleichen vs schleifen
Shared letters: cehilns. Private to "schleichen": -. Private to "schleifen": f.
"schleichen" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVVCCVC · "schleifen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schleichen ← cshleichen · scchleichen · schelichen · schhleichen · schlecihen · schleicchen · schleicehn · schleichenn
- schleifen ← cshleifen · scchleifen · schelifen · schhleifen · schlefien · schleiefn · schleifenn · schleiffen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schleichen" for "schleifen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "schleichen" vs "schleifen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "schleichen" and "schleifen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schleichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schleifen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,633,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schleichen" and "schleifen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schleichen vs schmeicheln". 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 #1,633,783 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.