SchaffvsSchläfeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#14,665
“Schaff” frequency rank
#46,966
“Schläfe” frequency rank
61631
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schaff Schläfe
Definition größeres, oben offenes Holzgefäß der Bereich zwischen Ohr und Auge, auf dem man beim Schlafen liegt

Where the eye mixes Schaff and Schläfe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Schaff
7 ch
Schläfe

Why the eye confuses Schaff with Schläfe

A purely visual mix-up. Schaff ([ʃaf]) and Schläfe ([ˈʃlɛːfə]) 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 61631, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schaff is recorded at frequency rank #14,665, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃaf]. Schläfe is at rank #46,966, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɛːfə].

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 61631, this pair ranks #742,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schaff vs Schläfe

Shared letters: cfhs. Private to "Schaff": a. Private to "Schläfe": elä.

"Schaff" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Schläfe" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schaffcshaff · scahff · scchaff · schfaf · schhaff · shcaff · sschaff

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schaff" for "Schläfe" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃaf] versus [ˈʃlɛːfə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schaff" vs "Schläfe" - which ranks higher?
"Schaff" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,665 in our German list, against #46,966 for "Schläfe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schaff" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schläfe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #742,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schaff" and "Schläfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schläfe 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 #742,505 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