Which to use
“Schaf” and “Schau” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,743
- “Schaf” frequency rank
- #976
- “Schau” frequency rank
- 12719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schaf | Schau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Paarhufer, der als Lieferant für Wolle, Fleisch und Milch dient | thematisch organisierte öffentliche Ausstellung |
Where the eye mixes Schaf and Schau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Schaf vs Schau
A purely visual mix-up. Schaf ([ʃaːf]) and Schau ([ʃaʊ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - f in “Schaf” becomes u in “Schau”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schaf is recorded at frequency rank #11,743, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃaːf]. Schau is at rank #976, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃaʊ̯].
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 12719, this pair ranks #1,962,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schaf vs Schau
Shared letters: achs. Private to "Schaf": f. Private to "Schau": u.
"Schaf" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "Schau" · 5 letters · shape CCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schaf" for "Schau" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Schaf" or "Schau" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schaf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,962,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schaf" and "Schau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schaf vs Schläfe". 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 #1,962,458 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.