SchafenvsSchaffensWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Schafen” and “Schaffens” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#23,296
“Schafen” frequency rank
#24,909
“Schaffens” frequency rank
48205
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schafen Schaffens
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Schaf Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Schaffen

Where the eye mixes Schafen and Schaffens

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Schafen
9 ch
Schaffens

Look-alike desk: Schafen vs Schaffens

A purely visual mix-up. Schafen ([ˈʃaːfn̩]) and Schaffens ([ˈʃafn̩s]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48205, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schafen is recorded at frequency rank #23,296, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaːfn̩]. Schaffens is at rank #24,909, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃafn̩s].

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 48205, this pair ranks #1,257,046 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schafen vs Schaffens

Shared letters: acefhns. Private to "Schafen": -. Private to "Schaffens": -.

"Schafen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC  ·  "Schaffens" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schafencshafen · scahfen · scchafen · schaefn · schafenn · schafne · schfaen · schhafen
  • Schaffenscshaffens · scahffens · scchaffens · schafefns · schafens · schaffenns · schaffenss · schaffesn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schafen" for "Schaffens" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaːfn̩] versus [ˈʃafn̩s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schafen" vs "Schaffens" - which ranks higher?
"Schafen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,296 in our German list, against #24,909 for "Schaffens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schafen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schaffens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,257,046 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schafen" and "Schaffens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schafen 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 #1,257,046 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list