Which to use
“safe” is an adjective and “säuft” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,848
- “safe” frequency rank
- #44,266
- “säuft” frequency rank
- 51114
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | safe | säuft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vor Gefahren geschützt | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs saufen |
Where the eye mixes safe and säuft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between safe and säuft
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: safe is [sɛɪ̯f] while säuft is [ˈzɔɪ̯ft]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51114, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
safe is recorded at frequency rank #6,848, classified as anadj, pronounced [sɛɪ̯f]. säuft is at rank #44,266, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯ft].
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 51114, this pair ranks #1,147,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of safe vs säuft
Shared letters: fs. Private to "safe": ae. Private to "säuft": tuä.
"safe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "säuft" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- safe ← asfe · saef · saffe · sfae · ssafe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "safe" for "säuft" ever safe?
Which is more common, "safe" or "säuft"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "safe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "säuft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,147,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "safe" and "säuft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "säuft vs surft". 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
Confusion rank #1,147,906 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.