SchäfervsSchauderTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,971
“Schäfer” frequency rank
#46,956
“Schauder” frequency rank
53927
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schäfer Schauder
Definition Beruf, der sich erwerbsmäßig mit dem Halten und Züchten von Schafen beschäftigt plötzliches Gespür von Kälte

Where the eye mixes Schäfer and Schauder

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Schäfer runs 7 letters (CCCVCVC) against Schauder's 8 (CCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Schäfer
8 ch
Schauder

Visual trap between Schäfer and Schauder

A purely visual mix-up. Schäfer ([ˈʃɛːfɐ]) and Schauder ([ˈʃaʊ̯dɐ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schäfer is recorded at frequency rank #6,971, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɛːfɐ]. Schauder is at rank #46,956, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaʊ̯dɐ].

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 53927, this pair ranks #1,038,871 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schäfer vs Schauder

Shared letters: cehrs. Private to "Schäfer": fä. Private to "Schauder": adu.

"Schäfer" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC  ·  "Schauder" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schauder ← cshauder · scahuder · scchauder · schaduer · schaudder · schauderr · schaudre · schauedr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schäfer" for "Schauder" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɛːfɐ] versus [ˈʃaʊ̯dɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schäfer" vs "Schauder" - which ranks higher?
"Schäfer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,971 in our German list, against #46,956 for "Schauder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Schäfer" and "Schauder" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schäfer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schauder" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,038,871 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schäfer" and "Schauder" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schauder vs Schaukel". 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 #1,038,871 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