Which to use
“Schlemmer” is a noun and “schlimmer” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,223
- “Schlemmer” frequency rank
- #1,820
- “schlimmer” frequency rank
- 51043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schlemmer | schlimmer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemand, der gern gut und viel isst | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs schlimm |
Where the eye mixes Schlemmer and schlimmer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Schlemmer and schlimmer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Schlemmer with schlimmer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schlemmer is [ˈʃlɛmɐ] while schlimmer is [ˈʃlɪmɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “Schlemmer” becomes i in “schlimmer”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schlemmer is recorded at frequency rank #49,223, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɛmɐ]. schlimmer is at rank #1,820, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪmɐ].
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 51043, this pair ranks #1,150,666 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Schlemmer vs schlimmer
Shared letters: cehlmrs. Private to "Schlemmer": -. Private to "schlimmer": i.
"Schlemmer" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC · "schlimmer" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Schlemmer" and "schlimmer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Schlemmer" vs "schlimmer" - 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 "Schlemmer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schlimmer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,150,666 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schlemmer" and "schlimmer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlemmer vs Schleuser". 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 #1,150,666 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.