Which to use
“schlimm” is an adjective and “Schlips” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,432
- “schlimm” frequency rank
- #40,193
- “Schlips” frequency rank
- 41625
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlimm | Schlips |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sehr negativ; nicht gut | Krawatte; ein schmaler Streifen aus Stoff, der um den Hals gebunden und typischerweise zu Hemd und Anzug getragen wird |
Where the eye mixes schlimm and Schlips
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. schlimm and Schlips follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between schlimm and Schlips
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlimm is [ʃlɪm] while Schlips is [ʃlɪps]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41625, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schlimm is recorded at frequency rank #1,432, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃlɪm]. Schlips is at rank #40,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃlɪps].
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 41625, this pair ranks #1,473,835 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of schlimm vs Schlips
Shared letters: chils. Private to "schlimm": m. Private to "Schlips": p.
"schlimm" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC · "Schlips" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schlimm" and "Schlips" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schlimm" or "Schlips"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "schlimm" and "Schlips" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schlimm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schlips" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,473,835 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlimm" and "Schlips" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlick vs Schlips". 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 #1,473,835 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.