Which to use
“schlimm” is an adjective and “schramm” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,432
- “schlimm” frequency rank
- #19,378
- “schramm” frequency rank
- 20810
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schlimm | schramm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sehr negativ; nicht gut | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schrammen |
Where the eye mixes schlimm and schramm
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. schlimm and schramm follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses schlimm with schramm
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlimm is [ʃlɪm] while schramm is [ʃʁam]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20810, 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]. schramm is at rank #19,378, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃʁam].
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 20810, this pair ranks #1,893,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schlimm vs schramm
Shared letters: chms. Private to "schlimm": il. Private to "schramm": ar.
"schlimm" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC · "schramm" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schlimm" and "schramm" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "schlimm" or "schramm"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "schlimm" and "schramm" 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 "schramm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,893,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schlimm" and "schramm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schramm vs stramm". 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 #1,893,496 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.