Which to use
“schade” is an adjective and “Schafe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,431
- “schade” frequency rank
- #7,390
- “Schafe” frequency rank
- 8821
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schade | Schafe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu bedauern, nicht erfreulich (seiend); traurig stimmend; zum Leidwesen, Schaden (seiend) | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schaf |
Where the eye mixes schade and Schafe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schade vs Schafe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schade is [ˈʃaːdə] while Schafe is [ˈʃaːfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “schade” becomes f in “Schafe”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8821, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schade is recorded at frequency rank #1,431, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃaːdə]. Schafe is at rank #7,390, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaːfə].
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 8821, this pair ranks #1,982,673 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schade vs Schafe
Shared letters: acehs. Private to "schade": d. Private to "Schafe": f.
"schade" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "Schafe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schade" and "Schafe" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "schade" or "Schafe" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schafe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,982,673 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schade" and "Schafe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schafe vs Schläfer". 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 #1,982,673 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.