SchlichtungvsschlichtwegConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#48,452
“Schlichtung” frequency rank
#13,231
“schlichtweg” frequency rank
61683
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schlichtung schlichtweg
Definition Versuch der Beilegung eines Streits zwischen zwei Parteien / Personen mit Hilfe einer dritten neutralen Person, also ohne Gerichte; es geht dabei um die Erzielung eines für beide Parteien hinnehmbaren Kompromisses; im Deutschen wird Schlichtung häufig bei tariflichen Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Arbeitgeberverbänden und Gewerkschaften gebraucht ganz einfach

Where the eye mixes Schlichtung and schlichtweg

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Schlichtung (CCCCVCCCVCC) and schlichtweg (CCCCVCCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

11 ch
Schlichtung
11 ch
schlichtweg

Visual trap between Schlichtung and schlichtweg

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schlichtung is [ˈʃlɪçtʊŋ] while schlichtweg is [ˈʃlɪçtˌvɛk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schlichtung is recorded at frequency rank #48,452, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtʊŋ]. 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 61683, this pair ranks #740,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schlichtung vs schlichtweg

Shared letters: cghilst. Private to "Schlichtung": nu. Private to "schlichtweg": ew.

"Schlichtung" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVCC  ·  "schlichtweg" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schlichtung ← cshlichtung · scchlichtung · schhlichtung · schilchtung · schlcihtung · schlicchtung · schlichhtung · schlichtnug
  • schlichtweg ← cshlichtweg · scchlichtweg · schhlichtweg · schilchtweg · schlcihtweg · schlicchtweg · schlichhtweg · schlichtewg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schlichtung" and "schlichtweg" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schlichtung" is a noun and "schlichtweg" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Schlichtung" or "schlichtweg" show up more?
"schlichtweg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,231 in our German list, against #48,452 for "Schlichtung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schlichtung" 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 #740,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schlichtung" and "schlichtweg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlachtung vs Schlichtung". 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 #740,549 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