schlichtenvsschlichtwegWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#13,934
“schlichten” frequency rank
#13,231
“schlichtweg” frequency rank
27165
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlichten schlichtweg
Definition zwischen streitenden Parteien vermitteln, einen Streit entschärfen ganz einfach

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schlichten and schlichtweg apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
schlichten
11 ch
schlichtweg

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlichten is [ˈʃlɪçtn̩] while schlichtweg is [ˈʃlɪçtˌvɛk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 27165, 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]. 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 27165, this pair ranks #1,806,250 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schlichten vs schlichtweg

Shared letters: cehilst. Private to "schlichten": n. Private to "schlichtweg": gw.

"schlichten" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC  ·  "schlichtweg" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlichtencshlichten · scchlichten · schhlichten · schilchten · schlcihten · schlicchten · schlichetn · schlichhten
  • schlichtwegcshlichtweg · scchlichtweg · schhlichtweg · schilchtweg · schlcihtweg · schlicchtweg · schlichhtweg · schlichtewg

Frequency comparison

schlichten#13,934
schlichtweg#13,231

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlichten" and "schlichtweg" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schlichten" is a verb and "schlichtweg" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schlichten" or "schlichtweg"?
"schlichtweg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,231 in our German list, against #13,934 for "schlichten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schlichten vs schlichtweg

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “schlichten”; for an adverb, it's “schlichtweg”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schlichten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list