schlechthin

[ˈʃlɛçtˈhɪn]

/[ˈʃlɛçtˈhɪn]/ adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“schlechthin” has 19 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #14,167. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,167
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
19
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - an sich, im eigentlichen Sinn, in Reinkultur, par excellence, per se, ohne Einschränkung

Corpus desk

Index DE-schlechthin · schlechthin · German

schlechthin · rank #14,167 · 19 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #14,167
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sauerland

Nearest frequency peer: Sauerland (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „schlechthin“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „schlechthin“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

schlechthin vs schlechten
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for schlechthin
PropertyValue
Headwordschlechthin
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[ˈʃlɛçtˈhɪn]
Letters11
Frequency rank#14,167
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „schlechthin“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).schlechthinliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Sauerland“ (#14,166), „Schnittstelle“ (#14,168), „Sarg“ (#14,165). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „schlechthin“ bei #14,167. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around schlechthin (IPA [ˈʃlɛçtˈhɪn]), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #14,167 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for schlechthin, with forms such as "cshlechthin", "scchlechthin", and "schelchthin". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "schlechten", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is schlechthin, spelled S-C-H-L-E-C-H-T-H-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    an sich, im eigentlichen Sinn, in Reinkultur, par excellence, per se, ohne Einschränkung
  2. 2
    als ausdrucksverstärkendes Satzelement bloß, einfach, gerade, glatt, eben
  3. 3
    ganz und gar, vollkommen, absolut

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Aus dem Gesagten nun ist ersichtlich, dass es weder abgesondert ein Leeres gibt, noch schlechthin.
  2. Dabei ist Handball der Wintersport schlechthin, klagt Müller.

Synonyms

katexochenpar excellenceper seebenschlechtwegschlichtwegabsolutbuchstäblichgänzlichrestlosvölligvollständigschlechterdings

This word in other languages

plainly(English)par excellence(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cshlechthin
  • scchlechthin
  • schelchthin
  • schhlechthin
  • schlcehthin
  • schlecchthin
  • schlechhthin
  • schlechhtin
  • schlechthhin
  • schlechthinn
  • schlechthni
  • schlechtihn
  • schlechtthin
  • schlecthhin
  • schlehcthin
  • schllechthin
  • sclhechthin
  • shclechthin
  • sschlechthin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of schlechthin - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cshlechthin2scchlechthin1schelchthin2schhlechthin1schlcehthin2schlecchthin1schlechhthin1schlechhtin2
Edit distance from "schlechthin"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "schlechthin"?
"schlechthin" is spelled S-C-H-L-E-C-H-T-H-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃlɛçtˈhɪn].
What does "schlechthin" mean?
As an adverb, "schlechthin" means: an sich, im eigentlichen Sinn, in Reinkultur, par excellence, per se, ohne Einschränkung
What words are commonly confused with "schlechthin"?
"schlechthin" is commonly confused with "schlechten". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "schlechthin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schlechthin" is [ˈʃlɛçtˈhɪn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schlechthin" come from?
"schlechthin" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "schlechthin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

spielerisch#14,178tendenziell#14,185orientierte#14,144unsichtbare#14,191

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

mechanischen19 variantskurzfristige19 variantseinzigartigen19 variantsBestrebungen19 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list