schlimmenvsschlimmereTell them apart

Which to use

“schlimmen” and “schlimmere” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,009
“schlimmen” frequency rank
#22,875
“schlimmere” frequency rank
35884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlimmen schlimmere
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schlimm Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs schlimm

Where the eye mixes schlimmen and schlimmere

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
schlimmen
10 ch
schlimmere

Look-alike desk: schlimmen vs schlimmere

A purely visual mix-up. schlimmen ([ˈʃlɪmən]) and schlimmere ([ˈʃlɪməʁə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlimmen is recorded at frequency rank #13,009, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪmən]. schlimmere is at rank #22,875, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪməʁə].

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 35884, this pair ranks #1,629,202 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schlimmen vs schlimmere

Shared letters: cehilms. Private to "schlimmen": n. Private to "schlimmere": r.

"schlimmen" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC  ·  "schlimmere" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlimmencshlimmen · scchlimmen · schhlimmen · schilmmen · schlimemn · schlimen · schlimmenn · schlimmne
  • schlimmerecshlimmere · scchlimmere · schhlimmere · schilmmere · schlimemre · schlimere · schlimmeer · schlimmerre

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schlimmen" and "schlimmere" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃlɪmən] versus [ˈʃlɪməʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schlimmen" or "schlimmere"?
"schlimmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,009 in our German list, against #22,875 for "schlimmere". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlimmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlimmere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,629,202 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlimmen" and "schlimmere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlemmer vs schlimmere". 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 #1,629,202 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