Which to use
“schlichte” is a verb and “schlichtweg” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,275
- “schlichte” frequency rank
- #13,231
- “schlichtweg” frequency rank
- 29506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlichte | schlichtweg |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schlichten | ganz einfach |
Where the eye mixes schlichte and schlichtweg
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. schlichte runs 9 letters (CCCCVCCCV) against schlichtweg's 11 (CCCCVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses schlichte with schlichtweg
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlichte is [ˈʃlɪçtə] while schlichtweg is [ˈʃlɪçtˌvɛk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schlichte is recorded at frequency rank #16,275, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtə]. schlichtweg is at rank #13,231, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtˌvɛk].
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 29506, this pair ranks #1,765,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schlichte vs schlichtweg
Shared letters: cehilst. Private to "schlichte": -. Private to "schlichtweg": gw.
"schlichte" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV · "schlichtweg" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVCCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schlichte ← cshlichte · scchlichte · schhlichte · schilchte · schlcihte · schlicchte · schlichet · schlichhte
- schlichtweg ← cshlichtweg · scchlichtweg · schhlichtweg · schilchtweg · schlcihtweg · schlicchtweg · schlichhtweg · schlichtewg
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schlichte" and "schlichtweg" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schlichte" or "schlichtweg"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "schlichte" and "schlichtweg" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schlichte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schlichtweg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,765,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlichte" and "schlichtweg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlichtung vs schlichtweg". 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 #1,765,527 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.