schlichtesvsschlichtwegWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#41,448
“schlichtes” frequency rank
#13,231
“schlichtweg” frequency rank
54679
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlichtes schlichtweg
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schlicht ganz einfach

Where the spellings diverge

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

10 ch
schlichtes
11 ch
schlichtweg

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlichtes is [ˈʃlɪçtəs] 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 (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlichtes is recorded at frequency rank #41,448, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtəs]. 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 54679, this pair ranks #1,009,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schlichtes vs schlichtweg

Shared letters: cehilst. Private to "schlichtes": -. Private to "schlichtweg": gw.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlichtescshlichtes · scchlichtes · schhlichtes · schilchtes · schlcihtes · schlicchtes · schlichets · schlichhtes
  • schlichtwegcshlichtweg · scchlichtweg · schhlichtweg · schilchtweg · schlcihtweg · schlicchtweg · schlichhtweg · schlichtewg

Frequency comparison

schlichtes#41,448
schlichtweg#13,231

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlichtes" and "schlichtweg" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schlichtes" is an adjective and "schlichtweg" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schlichtes" or "schlichtweg"?
"schlichtweg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,231 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.

Remembering schlichtes vs schlichtweg

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “schlichtes”; for an adverb, it's “schlichtweg”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schlichtes” 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