schlugvsschrägWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schlug is a verb, schräg is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schlug” is a verb and “schräg” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,786
“schlug” frequency rank
#8,939
“schräg” frequency rank
11725
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlug schräg
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schlagen von einer (gedachten) geraden, horizontalen oder vertikalen Linie abweichend (und einen spitzen, stumpfen aber niemals rechten Winkel bildend)

Where the eye mixes schlug and schräg

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
schlug
6 ch
schräg

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schlug is [ʃluːk] while schräg is [ʃʁɛːk]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlug is recorded at frequency rank #2,786, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃluːk]. schräg is at rank #8,939, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃʁɛːk].

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 11725, this pair ranks #1,968,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schlug vs schräg

Shared letters: cghs. Private to "schlug": lu. Private to "schräg": .

"schlug" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC  ·  "schräg" · 6 letters · shape CCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlugcshlug · scchlug · schhlug · schlgu · schllug · schlugg · schulg · sclhug

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schlug" and "schräg" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schlug" is a verb and "schräg" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schlug" or "schräg"?
"schlug" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,786 in our German list, against #8,939 for "schräg". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "schlug" and "schräg". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlug" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schräg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,968,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlug" and "schräg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schräg vs Schwaz". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list