Which to use
“Schafe” is a noun and “schuf” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,390
- “Schafe” frequency rank
- #8,780
- “schuf” frequency rank
- 16170
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schafe | schuf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schaf | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schaffen |
Where the eye mixes Schafe and schuf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Schafe and schuf
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schafe is [ˈʃaːfə] while schuf is [ʃuːf]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16170, 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]. schuf is at rank #8,780, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃuːf].
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 16170, this pair ranks #1,937,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schafe vs schuf
Shared letters: cfhs. Private to "Schafe": ae. Private to "schuf": u.
"Schafe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "schuf" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schafe" for "schuf" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Schafe" or "schuf" 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 "Schafe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schuf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,937,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schafe" and "schuf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schuf vs shut". 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 #1,937,995 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.