schlimmervsschlimmesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,820
“schlimmer” frequency rank
#9,801
“schlimmes” frequency rank
11621
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlimmer schlimmes
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs schlimm Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schlimm

Where the eye mixes schlimmer and schlimmes

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

9 ch
schlimmer
9 ch
schlimmes

Visual trap between schlimmer and schlimmes

A purely visual mix-up. schlimmer ([ˈʃlɪmɐ]) and schlimmes ([ˈʃlɪməs]) 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 a single letter - r in “schlimmer” becomes s in “schlimmes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlimmer is recorded at frequency rank #1,820, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪmɐ]. schlimmes is at rank #9,801, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɪməs].

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 11621, this pair ranks #1,968,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schlimmer vs schlimmes

Shared letters: cehilms. Private to "schlimmer": r. Private to "schlimmes": -.

"schlimmer" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC  ·  "schlimmes" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlimmercshlimmer · scchlimmer · schhlimmer · schilmmer · schlimemr · schlimer · schlimmerr · schlimmre
  • schlimmescshlimmes · scchlimmes · schhlimmes · schilmmes · schlimems · schlimes · schlimmess · schlimmse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlimmer" and "schlimmes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃlɪmɐ] versus [ˈʃlɪməs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schlimmer" vs "schlimmes" - which ranks higher?
"schlimmer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,820 in our German list, against #9,801 for "schlimmes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlimmer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlimmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,968,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlimmer" and "schlimmes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlemmer vs schlimmes". 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 #1,968,855 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