Which to use
“Schafe” and “Strafe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,390
- “Schafe” frequency rank
- #2,557
- “Strafe” frequency rank
- 9947
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schafe | Strafe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Schaf | Sanktion, wegen Fehlverhalten erhaltene Reaktion |
Where the eye mixes Schafe and Strafe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Schafe with Strafe
A purely visual mix-up. Schafe ([ˈʃaːfə]) and Strafe ([ˈʃtʁaːfə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9947, 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]. Strafe is at rank #2,557, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaːfə].
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 9947, this pair ranks #1,977,511 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Schafe vs Strafe
Shared letters: aefs. Private to "Schafe": ch. Private to "Strafe": rt.
"Schafe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "Strafe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schafe" for "Strafe" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Schafe" or "Strafe"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Schafe" and "Strafe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schafe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Strafe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,977,511 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schafe" and "Strafe" 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 #1,977,511 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.