schlichtenvsschlichtesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schlichten is a verb, schlichtes is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schlichten” is a verb and “schlichtes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,934
“schlichten” frequency rank
#41,448
“schlichtes” frequency rank
55382
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlichten schlichtes
Definition zwischen streitenden Parteien vermitteln, einen Streit entschärfen Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schlicht

Where the eye mixes schlichten and schlichtes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

10 ch
schlichten
10 ch
schlichtes

Why the eye confuses schlichten with schlichtes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlichten is [ˈʃlɪçtn̩] while schlichtes is [ˈʃlɪçtəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “schlichten” becomes s in “schlichtes”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlichten is recorded at frequency rank #13,934, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtn̩]. schlichtes is at rank #41,448, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtəs].

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 55382, this pair ranks #981,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schlichten vs schlichtes

Shared letters: cehilst. Private to "schlichten": n. Private to "schlichtes": -.

"schlichten" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC  ·  "schlichtes" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlichtencshlichten · scchlichten · schhlichten · schilchten · schlcihten · schlicchten · schlichetn · schlichhten
  • schlichtescshlichtes · scchlichtes · schhlichtes · schilchtes · schlcihtes · schlicchtes · schlichets · schlichhtes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlichten" and "schlichtes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schlichten" is a verb and "schlichtes" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schlichten" or "schlichtes"?
"schlichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,934 in our German list, against #41,448 for "schlichtes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlichtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #981,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlichten" and "schlichtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schliche vs schlichtes". 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 #981,727 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