schlimm

[ʃlɪm]

/[ʃlɪm]/ adj

The verdict

“schlimm” has 10 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #1,432. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,432
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sehr negativ; nicht gut

Corpus desk

Index DE-schlimm · schlimm · German

schlimm · rank #1,432 · 10 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,432
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH schade

Nearest frequency peer: schade (-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 „schlimm“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „schlimm“ 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).

schlimm vs Schwamm
57% similar
schlimm vs schramm
71% similar
schlimm vs Schlitz
57% similar

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

Key facts for schlimm
PropertyValue
Headwordschlimm
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ʃlɪm]
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,432
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „schlimm“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).schlimmliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „schade“ (#1,431), „Sekunden“ (#1,433), „sage“ (#1,430). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „schlimm“ bei #1,432. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around schlimm (IPA [ʃlɪm]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,432 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for schlimm, with forms such as "cshlimm", "scchlimm", and "schhlimm". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "Schwamm", "schramm", "Schlitz", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, 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 schlimm, spelled S-C-H-L-I-M-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    sehr negativ; nicht gut
  2. 2
    gegen anerkannte Werte verstoßend
  3. 3
    (Stelle des Körpers) nicht gesund, (chronisch) krank oder entzündet
  4. 4
    (Krankheiten, Verletzungen, etc.) bedrohlich oder ernsthaft

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Deine schlimme Handschrift kann kein Mensch lesen.
  2. „Seine Träger haben ihn im Stich gelassen und der feindlichen Natur ausgeliefert - ein schlimmer Schock, dessen Tragweite nachträglich zu schildern fast unmöglich ist.“

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cshlimm
  • scchlimm
  • schhlimm
  • schilmm
  • schlim
  • schllimm
  • schlmim
  • sclhimm
  • shclimm
  • sschlimm

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of schlimm - 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.

cshlimm2scchlimm1schhlimm1schilmm2schlim1schllimm1schlmim2sclhimm2
Edit distance from "schlimm"

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 "schlimm"?
"schlimm" is spelled S-C-H-L-I-M-M. The IPA pronunciation is [ʃlɪm].
What does "schlimm" mean?
As an adjective, "schlimm" means: sehr negativ; nicht gut
What words are commonly confused with "schlimm"?
"schlimm" is commonly confused with "Schwamm", "schramm", "Schlitz". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "schlimm"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "schlimm" is [ʃlɪm]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "schlimm" come from?
"schlimm" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list