schlau
German, adjective/ʃlaʊ̯/
schlau is spelled S-C-H-L-A-U (6 letters) and appears 14 times per million words in written German, the 5,262nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Schlau is a German adjective meaning “clever in a way that enables one to achieve one's goals; slightly sly or cunning (but not usually implying any evil intentions)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “um Wege wissend, seine Ziele (dennoch) zu erreichen”.
What does schlau mean in English?
adjective
- 1
clever in a way that enables one to achieve one's goals; slightly sly or cunning (but not usually implying any evil intentions)
- 2
informalbright, intelligent, clever (with no such overtone at all)
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. um Wege wissend, seine Ziele (dennoch) zu erreichen 2. Klugheit besitzend
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of schlau
- schlauer masculine nominative singular
- am schlauesten superlative
- am schlausten superlative
- schlaue feminine nominative singular
- schlaues neuter nominative singular
- schlauen genitive masculine singular
- schlauem dative masculine singular
- der schlaue definite includes-article masculine
- die schlaue definite feminine includes-article
- das schlaue definite includes-article neuter
- die schlauen definite includes-article nominative
- des schlauen definite genitive includes-article
- der schlauen definite feminine genitive
- dem schlauen dative definite includes-article
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce schlau?
- /ʃlaʊ̯/
- [ʃlaʊ̯]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to schlau
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is schlau in German?
schlau appears 14 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).