schlecht und recht

[ʃlɛçt ʊnt ʁɛçt]

/[ʃlɛçt ʊnt ʁɛçt]/ phrase

The verdict

“schlecht und recht” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - so gut es eben geht

Corpus desk

Index DE-schlecht-und-recht · schlecht und recht · German

schlecht und recht · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 18 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for schlecht und recht
PropertyValue
Headwordschlecht und recht
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ʃlɛçt ʊnt ʁɛçt]
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „schlecht und recht“ im Deutschen

schlecht und rechtschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

schlecht und recht is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [ʃlɛçt ʊnt ʁɛçt]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "so gut es eben geht".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for schlecht und recht, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is schlecht und recht, spelled S-C-H-L-E-C-H-T- -U-N-D- -R-E-C-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    so gut es eben geht

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how schlecht und recht appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Die Vorlesungen der Universität besuchte er schlecht und recht; seine Kollegen behaupten nämlich, sich darauf zu besinnen, daß er während des ganzen fünfjährigen Studiums sich nur ein einziges Mal hervortat.“

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "schlecht und recht"?
"schlecht und recht" is spelled S-C-H-L-E-C-H-T- -U-N-D- -R-E-C-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ʃlɛçt ʊnt ʁɛçt].
What does "schlecht und recht" mean?
As a phrase, "schlecht und recht" means: so gut es eben geht
How do you pronounce "schlecht und recht"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schlecht und recht" is [ʃlɛçt ʊnt ʁɛçt]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schlecht und recht" come from?
"schlecht und recht" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list