Which to use
“Schafe” is a noun and “schaffe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,390
- “Schafe” frequency rank
- #6,232
- “schaffe” frequency rank
- 13622
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schafe | schaffe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schaf | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schaffen |
Same sound, different letters: Schafe vs schaffe
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. Schafe runs 6 letters (CCCVCV) against schaffe's 7 (CCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: Schafe vs schaffe
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: Schafe and schaffe carry the same recorded pronunciation, [ˈʃaːfə]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13622, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schafe is recorded at frequency rank #7,390, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaːfə]. schaffe is at rank #6,232, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃafə].
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 13622, this pair ranks #1,956,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schafe vs schaffe
Shared letters: acefhs. Private to "Schafe": -. Private to "schaffe": -.
"Schafe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "schaffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Schafe" and "schaffe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Schafe" vs "schaffe" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "Schafe" / "schaffe". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schafe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schaffe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,956,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schafe" and "schaffe" 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 #1,956,803 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.