schlichvsSchlickWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: schlich is a verb, Schlick is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schlich” is a verb and “Schlick” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,844
“schlich” frequency rank
#46,964
“Schlick” frequency rank
75808
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlich Schlick
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schleichen Ablagerung des Meerwassers und des Wassers der Flüsse, in die mit der Flutwelle Meerwasser eindringt; die Wattengebiete bestehen aus starken Schlickschichten.

Where the eye mixes schlich and Schlick

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
schlich
7 ch
Schlick

Why the eye confuses schlich with Schlick

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlich is [ʃlɪç] while Schlick is [ʃlɪk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - h in “schlich” becomes k in “Schlick”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75808, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlich is recorded at frequency rank #28,844, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃlɪç]. Schlick is at rank #46,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃlɪk].

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 75808, this pair ranks #298,920 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of schlich vs Schlick

Shared letters: chils. Private to "schlich": -. Private to "Schlick": k.

"schlich" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC  ·  "Schlick" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlichcshlich · scchlich · schhlich · schilch · schlcih · schlicch · schlichh · schlihc
  • Schlickcshlick · scchlick · schhlick · schilck · schlcik · schlicck · schlickk · schlikc

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlich" and "Schlick" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schlich" is a verb and "Schlick" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "schlich" vs "Schlick" - which ranks higher?
"schlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,844 in our German list, against #46,964 for "Schlick". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "schlich" and "Schlick" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schlick" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #298,920 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlich" and "Schlick" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlick vs schlucke". 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 #298,920 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list